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TotalHealth Magazine has created this featured segment in order to bring recognition to products, services, people, and organizations who deserve, in our opinion, special recognition for improving quality of life. The first product recognized is Smart Women's Choice. It is the first safe, hormone-free, contraceptive gel. It is a hyper-allergenic formula designed to completely immobilize sperm not allowing them to travel up the fallopian tube. This is a tremendous benefit to women who suffer side-effects of hormone-based contraceptives of which there are many including death.

You can see test results on Dr. Farron's website from one of the world's leading male fertility clinics in La Jolla, CA showing a 100% effectiveness at various dilution rates, and a video of a test result performed by an independent Israeli lab under the microscope showing the effectiveness of SWC. The Israeli lab test was performed at the request of a women's health center in Israel that provides SWC to its clients.

For more information or to order Smart Women's Choice contraceptive cream please visit:

Beware of Commercial Lubricants
The first thing a woman will usually reach for to help with vaginal dryness is a personal lubricant. But beware! Not all lubricants are created equal. A surprising number, even those reported to be more natural, include synthetic or toxic compounds that could cause unpleasant side-effects or even pose health risks. In fact, some contain chemical ingredients that were originally designed for use in oven cleaners or on automobiles!
The delicate vaginal tissue allows for easy access of chemicals into the body. Therefore, it's essential to know the differences between lubricants that are truly natural and healthy and those that contain toxic chemicals.
You may be surprised to learn how many toxic chemicals are found in lubricants. Some of the more common ones include petroleum-based ingredients, such as petroleum jelly, parabens, henoxyethanol, propylene glycol, phlorhexidine, glycerin and silicone-based ingredients. Imagine absorbing all these chemicals through the delicate vaginal tissue!
There is a long list of side effects from exposure to these chemicals. Some can alter the healthy pH of the vagina, while others cause irritation, burning, and an overgrowth of Candida or susceptibility to vaginal infections..

Click Here to read the full article on vaginal health from Dr. Sellman

I highly recommend you take some time and visit the Skin Deep database provided by EWG and check the ingredients in the products you are using on and in your body. You will probably be shocked to learn how many of them are dangerous and cancer causing. One might not be a big deal but when you include environmental chemicals like flame retardants in mattresses, furniture, and clothing and other dangerous chemicals in your skin care and makeup products you are exposed to on a daily basis...they really do add up.

Here is the link to the Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated Children Study mentioned in our news feed:

Something is wrong with America’s children. They are sick – allergic, asthmatic, anxious, autoimmune, autistic, hyperactive, distracted and learning disabled. Thirty-two million American children – a full 43% of them – suffer from at least one of 20 chronic illnesses not including obesity. Across the board, once rare pediatric disorders from autism and ADD to Type 1 diabetes and Tourette’s syndrome are soaring, though few studies pool the data. Compared to their parents, children today are four times more likely to have a chronic illness. And while their grandparents might never have swallowed a pill as children, the current generation of kids is a pharmaceutical sales rep’s dream come true: More than one million American children under five years old takes a psychiatric drug. More than 8.3 million kids under 17 have consumed psychiatric drugs, and in any given month one in four is taking at least one prescription drug for something.

Fast food, bad genes, too much TV, video games, pesticides, plastics – name the environmental factor and it has been implicated in the surge of sickness, although none adequately explains the scale or scope of the epidemic. There is one exposure, however, that has evaded the search, despite that children have received it by direct injection in steadily accumulating doses far beyond anything past generations ever saw: 50 doses of 14 vaccines by age six, 69 doses of 16 pharmaceutical vaccines containing powerfully immune-altering ingredients by age 18.

We're assured vaccines are "safe and effective" even though public health officials acknowledge they sometimes have serious side-effects including death and despite the troubling fact that no long-term study of their effects on overall health has ever been conducted. Remarkably, not a single published study has ever compared vaccinated kids to unvaccinated kids to see who is healthier years after the shots. Until now.

Join John as he talks with Producer Joan Shenton about her recently released documentary series on the HPV vaccine called Sacrificial Virgins. In the series Joan looks at the science behind the vaccine, the global impact, lawsuits, and of course the terrible damage it can do to young women including death. If nothing else it raises the question if the science isn't there to actually prove the effectiveness of preventing cervical cancer are the potential adverse reactions worth the risk of the vaccine? Decide for yourself after watching this interview and doing your own research. We provide links below to topics discussed in the interview.

If you are a parent and you choose to have your children vaccinated we highly recommend you download and use the free vaccination journal from the Children's Medical Safety Research Institute. While most children do not appear to experience adverse reactions to the plethora of vaccines given them some children do experience debilitating, long-term, life-changing reactions and even death. In order to sue the Vaccine Court to get financial compensation to help cover medical costs that could last a lifetime you need to have a clear and accurate record of their vaccination schedule and accurate notes on changes in their health, mental state, etc. As Joan points out in the interview side effects and adverse reactions can come weeks, months, and even years after receiving a vaccine. In addition adverse reactions are severely under-reported globally. If you think your child does experience adverse reactions of any kind please make sure you report them.

The US Vaccine Court has paid out about $142 million dollars in compensation in the first half of the 2017 fiscal year alone and about $3.6 billion dollars in compensation since 1988. With so many injuries it pretty much lays to rest any possible claim vaccines are safe. Getting vaccinated is really like playing Russian roulette.

Sacrificial Virgins Series

John returns to his roots in broadcasting and his days of relationship talk radio with International Bestselling author Ava Miles as they talk about Ava's latest series The Goddess Guides. The Goddess Guides take women (and men if they are interested) by the hand and lead them down the path to healthier relationships, discarding toxic influences along the way. Ava launched her writing career with the #1 national bestselling book Nora Roberts Land in 2015.

Join John in Costa Rica where he investigates Dental Tourism. Many people do not have dental insurance and yet need dental work or surgery they cannot afford. Costa Rica offers cost savings of 60 to 70% and more over costs of dental work in the US. John traveled to Costa Rica earlier this year to interview patients and dentists. On today's show he talks with patients and visits clinics to ensure they can provide the best practices and care for international patients. In this installment he meets Ogg from Brooklyn, gets Ogg's story and visits the clinic that did the work. Ogg saved about $66,000 by having his dental work done in Costa Rica. Top dentists in Costa Rica have the same or better education than many of dentists in the US. Like with everything it seems it is buyer beware. Always do your own homework, seek out qualified referrals, and don't be afraid to ask the tough questions. Keep in mind you do not have the same access to compensation in the event anything goes wrong like you do in the US.

The warning went out in the autumn of 2017. The medical experts' predicted that this year's flu season would be especially serious. They believed that a nasty flu strain would affect the population throughout the country. Unfortunately, their predictions were all too true.

A particularly virulent flu strain called Influenza A or H3N2 has become an epidemic in all 49 states except Hawaii. Hospital emergency rooms are overflowing with flu patients and there is a growing list of deaths that are directly attributed to this year's flu outbreak. The rate of hospitalizations for the flu has hit the highest levels seen since health officials started recording this data in 2010, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.1

The obvious question is, how do we effectively protect ourselves? The flu vaccine is considered the best protection and everyone is advised to get their shot. However, the problem is that this year's flu shot is not living up to its promise. Medical authorities admit it is only 10-30% effective in preventing the flu. Hardly an encouraging statistic!

Tamiflu—A flawed Anti-Viral Medication

Tamiflu is the other strategy recommended to help people once they have been diagnosed with the flu. Tamiflu is an antiviral medication that is supposed to prevent viruses from proliferating the body by blocking their release from already infected cells. It is the first line of treatment recommended for every one over the age of two weeks.

But does it really work? Nobody knows for sure, claims the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration, a group that issues careful analyses of the evidence behind drugs and vaccine. Cochrane researchers say there's not enough evidence to prove Tamiflu works.2

In addition to the fact that there is serious doubt about Tamiflu's effectiveness, there are also concerns about Tamiflu's side-effects, especially in children. Since November 2006, the FDA as warned that children and teenagers suffering from the flu "may be at a higher risk for seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior early during their illness." The British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence lists "altered consciousness" as an "uncommon" side-effect of the drug in children and adolescents.3

But in addition to the known side-effects of nausea and vomiting, Tamiflu has particularly serious side-effect for some children. There have been numerous reports of delirium, hallucinations, nightmares, convulsions and encephalitis.

The advice from integrative medicine expert, Dr. Sherry Tennpenny, DO is "everyone, especially parents, should be wary of using this drug. It provides, at best, one and a half days of relief from flu-like symptoms and can have lethal consequences. Beyond the lackluster results for the treatment and prevention of influenza, nearly 10% of people who are prescribed Tamiflu can't tolerate the most common side effect-persistent nausea. With the course of treatment costing up to $200, this drug is best avoided."4

A Word About Your Immune System

The immune system is your body's natural defense system. It's an intricate network of cells, tissues, and organs that band together to defend your body against invaders. Those invaders include bacteria, viruses and mold, all with the potential to make you very sick.

A weakened immune system is due to numerous issues including prolonged stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition or an underlying health issue. When the immune system is unable to function optimally and perform its function as an effective surveillance system, all sorts of pathogens, including viruses, can gain the upper hand. Young children as well as the elderly, are especially vulnerable to compromised immunity.

What is left out in the conversation about flu protection is the overwhelming evidence supporting the use of safe, natural approaches to optimize a healthy immune response.

During the flu season (and before) it is essential to put into action a flu-proof plan to enhance your immune system! Ensuring that your immune system is in tip-top condition and ready to respond to any invading pathogen—be it a virus or bacteria—is the most important effective preventive flu strategy!

Silverbiotics—The Proven Safe and Effective Flu Fighter

For time immemorial, silver has been recognized as a powerful solution for successfully treating all types of infections both from viruses to bacteria.

The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates swore by silver's ability to heal wounds and repair tissue. For thousands of years silver was recognized all over the world for its healing power again pathogens!

While there are various kinds of silver products there is one superior silver technology that has been proven to be heads and shoulders above the rest. Thanks to 21st.century technology, a new patented form of silver, called SilverSol Technology® has enhanced silver's unique abilities to kill pathogens and accelerate wound healing. SilverSol Technology® is a powerful and effective form of silver found in the SilverSol® nano-silver products by American Biotech Labs.

American Biotech Labs has developed one of the most effective nano-silver technologies in the world. They currently hold more than 400 independent studies and tests on their nano-silver products conducted by more than 60 private, US government, military and university labs.

Their research has shown that their SilverSol Technology® successfully addresses a wide variety of infections including MRSA, VRE and malaria. It is also effectively against mold, including black mold.

This season's flu strain H3N2 is especially resistant to the flu vaccine. This is where SilverSol® nano-silver comes to the rescue! Impressive test results have demonstrated that the SilverSol® nano-silver products were able to in activate and kill the influenza A or H3N2 virus.

An independent testing report was conducted to assess the SilverSol® Technology's ability to eliminate the very virulent H3N2 virus strain at a 10 PPM (parts per million) solution. 5 The SilverSol® nano-silver products are formulated with the 10 ppm solution. Within 2 hours there was a 68.4% kill rate and after 12 hours, it had killed 99% of the viruses in the test!

This is really sensational news. Not only has SilverSol® nano-silver shown its effectiveness in killing the H3N2 virus, but it can do so quickly and without any side-effects whatsoever. There are very few anti-viral prescription drugs or even natural products that have demonstrated such outstanding results.

How to Put SilverSol® Nano-Silver Into Action

The first step in an immune support program is to insure that the immune system is able to reduce the pathogenic load which includes invasion of viruses, bacteria and mold.

Silver Biotics Immune Support, the liquid version, excels for immune support. Not only has it been proven to completely kill the H3N2 virus, it also has the ability to kill harmful bacteria. In fact, it has been shown to kill the deadly antibiotic resistant strain of Staph Aureus( MRSA ) while leaving beneficial bacteria unscathed. It can therefore help prevent and treat secondary bacterial infections which often company a flu diagnosis.

It is recommended to use Silver Biotics Immune Support on a regular basis to optimize your immune system. The recommended maintenance dose is 1 tsp morning and night. Since Silver Biotics Immune Support is a clear, odorless, tasteless liquid without any side effects or build up in the tissues (it is impossible to get Argyria, i.e., blue man syndrome), it is totally safe for everyone, including chiclren and the elderly.

If you want further protection, you take a therapeutic dose of 1 TBSP two or three times a day. This is also recommended if you find yourself coming down with the flu or an infection.

Since viruses enter the body through the nose and mouth. Medical experts state that flu viruses are spread mainly by droplets when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These airborne droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or inhaled into the lungs. These droplets can also land on surfaces in the home, workplace or school. A protective strategy would be putting Silver Biotics Immune Support in a spray bottle and spraying down surfaces in your home or any public place. It can also be used as a nasal spray either preventively or if you have any kind of a sinusitis condition.

SilverSol® nano-silver also is available as a colorless, tasteless and odorless gel, called Silver Biotics Armor Gel. It has the same powerful antiviral and antibiotic action. When used has a hand sanitizer, the gel's anti-viral protection has been tested to last for up four hours (up to three days on other parts of the body). Unlike commercial hand sanitizers which dry out your skin as well as quickly losing their effectiveness, the gentle ,safe and painless Silver Biotics Armor Gel is a powerful ally for flu protection for the entire family.

Another way you can use the gel is dabbing a little in and around your nostrils throughout the day. This will be a protective barrier to kill any virus that you may be exposed to.

In case of a strep throat, sore throat or laryngitis, the Silver Biotics®TM Silver Lozenges formulated with SilverSol® liquid and Manuka honey are a powerful protector and healer. The addition of Manuka honey with its powerful antiviral and antibiotic properties, make for a dynamic duo. Silver Biotics®TM Silver Lozenges are a great tasting addition to your antiviral and antibacterial protocol.

The SilverSol Technology® range of products are available from most health food stores, drug store chains, as well as online. It's always a good idea to keep a good supply of their products on hand!!

If you want to enhance your flu fighting protocol, you can also include Vitamin D (10 - 30,000 IU daily during flu season), Vitamin C (1000 mg 3-4x daily), probiotics and the homeopathic Oscillo. Always put your flu fighting program into action at the very first sign of something brewing. The sooner you take action, the greater the chance your can nip the flu in the bud.

There is no doubt this flu season has been a tough one for so many people. It's a blessing to know the proven flu fighting champions Silver Biotics Immune Support, Silver Biotics Silver Gel, and Silver BioticsTM Silver Lozenges provide a truly safe and effective strategy to not only enhance your immune system but also provide a powerful flu treatment.

There has been a lot of publicity about the need for everyone to get a flu shot for protection from
swine flu and seasonal flu. However, there are mixed reports surfacing on the efficacy of the
existing vaccines.

"There is no evidence that any flu vaccine, thus far developed, is effective in preventing or mitigating an attack of influenza". Dr. J. Anthony Morris, former Chief Vaccine Officer, FDA.

In the October 2008 issue of the Archive of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine it was reported that vaccinating young people against the flu had no impact on flu related hospitalization.

A large-scale systematic review of 51 studies published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than placebo for children. The study involved 260,000 children.

On the other hand, there very good evidence to support the use of a variety of natural strategies to
deal with any flu. Some of these strategies include:

Avoid sugar, which lowers the immune systems strength.

Get plenty of sleep, which helps the body to regenerate and balance itself.

Avoid stress, which also lowers the strength of the immune system.

Wash your hands and use sanitizer cleansers, if washing is not possible.

Eat whole foods, no processed foods, especially plenty of vegetables.

Certain supplements have been shown to have a good impact on preventing the flu and lessening the symptoms. These include Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Zinc, Vitamin A, L-lysine, Garlic, Echinacea, Olive leaf extract and Elderberry.

The regimen used by the Bens family, and anyone who asks for help, includes:

These natural flu prevention and treatment strategies have good scientific evidence as well as support
from doctors in actual practice. They are not only effective; they have no side effects. Most of the flu
vaccines not only have little scientific evidence, they also have numerous possible negative reactions
including increased risk of asthma, autism, and neurological damage. The sooner you start the above
treatment the better your results will be.

The body naturally builds up toxins. Even within
a relatively clean environment and with a
healthy diet, we benefit from regular seasonal
cleansing. Cleansing has always been the foundation
of natural health systems, including Ayurveda and
Chinese medicine. These systems honor the body's
innate intelligence to heal itself.

Our modern condition, stressed, starved and
poisoned, contributes significant amounts of toxins
and stressors to our daily existence. Even though
cleansing has always been essential, the need for
regular cleansing is greater than ever. Cancer, heart
disease and diabetes—the diseases of modern
toxicity—are off the chart and on the rise.1

Deeper reasons to cleanse
Cleansing helps us remove toxins, maintain healthy
immune systems and increase elimination—but it
also helps us feel mentally clearer and more spiritually
connected. It benefits us on a profound level because
when we remove obstacles to our well-being, we are
better able to connect to ourselves. According to
Ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine from the
East, the cause of all disease is the ignoring of our
own innate intelligence and experience. Cleansing
also helps to clear the slate of our minds, so that we
better connect to our innate wisdom, enabling us to
move forward so that we are more intimately in touch
with ourselves.

Every organ is related to emotion. Therefore,
when you make positive changes on a physical
level, you will also see emotional benefits. When we
understand the power of our daily dietary and lifestyle
habits on a deeper level, we start to wake up to a life
with more joy, clarity and intention.

What does a cleansing diet look like?

No refined sugar
Healthy diets call for low to no refined sugar and
high-fructose corn syrup, two of the most addictive
and disease-causing substances on the planet.

No refined carbohydrates
Eliminate refined carbs in the form of grains that
have been stripped of nutrients, leaving just the flour. Include whole grains and starches, such as
rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet and ancient forms of
wheat. Most successful diets minimize or completely
eliminate modern inorganic wheat and corn products.

No processed vegetable oils
Processed vegetable oils that have been highly
refined and highly heated are often oxidized and
stripped of nutritional value, and they were never part
of the food chain until the past one hundred years.

Most processed oils are high in omega-6 essential
fatty acids and low in omega-3s, an imbalance that
contributes to inflammatory conditions. Additionally,
unless they are organic, corn, soy, canola and
cottonseed oils are all genetically modified.

No dairy
Most healthy diets eliminate dairy products except
for ghee and fresh, organic cultured products like
kefir and yogurt. Dairy builds mucus in the body, is
hard to digest, and burdens the immune system.

Copious amounts of produce
Multicolored vegetables and fruits support immunity
and good elimination, regulate body weight, and feed
the friendly bacteria in the gut.

Whole foods
Healthy diets focus on eating an abundance of whole
foods instead of counting calories or obsessing
about ideal macro-nutrient ratios. They don¡¦t include
processed or manufactured foods.

Outside of the cleanse diet, you might want to
incorporate a few simple home practices for regular
detox throughout the year.

How do you go beyond diet when cleansing?
There are some simple home practices that you can
incorporate for regular detox throughout the year, or
ramp up while focusing on a dietary detox:

Sweating for Skin and Lymph Detoxification
The body releases hundreds of chemicals and toxins
through the skin in our sweat. In this way, sweating
benefits the lymphatic system, kidneys, lungs, skin,
liver and blood. Sweating can be achieved through
exercise, sauna or bathing.

Dry Brushing and External OleationUsing a dry
brush, which can be purchased at most health food
stores, removes dead skin cells from the surface.
After dry brushing, lightly massaging the entire
body from head to toe with sesame or coconut oil is
extremely nourishing for the tissues, assists the body
with drawing out fat-soluble toxins, and rejuvenates
and moisturizes the skin.

We are all hearing about the flu this season and indeed,
it has been very prevalent. Many doctors, pharmacies,
the media and the government are all pushing everyone
to get flu shots. Some people decline this from mistrust
and not wanting foreign substances injected into them. In
fact, the results from this year's flu vaccine have been very
disappointing to say the least, and this has been reported
widely in the news. Some say it's only 10 percent effective,
and this means that many people are getting the flu even
after having the vaccine.

As we know, the government, the World Health
Organization and private sector scientists who are engaged
in the difficult task of creating the vaccines must guesstimate,
often more than a year ahead, what specific viruses will be in
circulation. This is because the flu viruses change a bit each
year—just enough to evade the human immune system that
has adapted to fight off previous strains.

I write a lot about seasonal health, but what about
seasonal disease? Flu is unusual in this regard and it is
also a nomadic disease—travelling to the US each year
from Southeast and East Asia where the majority of flu
viruses originate.

Flu season in northern latitudes is from November to
March and it looks like this year it is peaking right now in
early February.

But why in the winter? There are several theories:

Does it have to do with suppressed immunity from lowered vitamin D levels because of less sunlight and shorter days (and maybe lowered melatonin levels as well)?

Less activity and more time indoors close to others, especially with children from their close exposures in school?

These are clearly part of the story, but some scientists have
proposed that the winter climate itself is the crucial factor,
so it is interesting that the name "influenza" is an Italian
word that originated in the mid-18th century as "influenza
di freddo," or "influence of the cold."

Flu viruses spread through the air in little respiratory
droplets that are more stable in cold air. Low humidity also
helps the virus particles remain airborne longer. These
factors contribute to the virus infecting more people.
When the humidity increases the droplets pick up water,
grow larger and fall to the ground more quickly.

By contrast, common cold viruses are spread primarily
by direct contact such as when people touch a surface that
has itself been touched by someone with a cold, or shake
hands with an infectious person.

Similar to the concerns with many diseases, the best
approach is prevention! That has to do with taking good
care of ourselves and our loved ones.

The end-of-year holidays challenge nearly everyone
with rich and congesting foods, more stress, and less sleep.
Excess sugar and decreased exercise may also be factors
that can contribute to a weakened immune system. Luckily
there's extra love and family, but on the other side of that,
travel is often challenging and offers greater exposure.
Many people get sick after plane trips, and airplane travel
is also one of the ways the flu spreads.

This is why in January and February, I do a general
detox program and simplify my diet, avoiding sugars and
floury foods, alcohol, and rich foods. I stay warm and
continue my exercise and stretch program. I take vitamin C, D, some A and zinc, and various herbs, and use fresh garlic
and ginger in my diet. Below are more ideas about what you can
do if you start to get sick this winter.

Overview and Underlying Energetic Factors
Prevention of colds and flu comes from protecting ourselves
with a strong immune system as well as a clean body, which
means healthy cells and tissues receiving all of their needed
nutrients with a minimum of interference from toxins. Our
attitude and belief system also help protect us and support
immunity. We all have an energetic field that shields us from
damaging forces and possibly even germs.

From the Chinese Medicine perspective, this protective
field is based on many factors. We get out of balance not just
from exposure to outer conditions, but also from internal
emotions like fear or anger, which stress our organs and
weaken our tissues. Then there are the external factors that
include the extreme climates like cold and damp or heat or
wind that can disturb our body/mind and disrupt our energies.
The cold and damp Winter climate stresses us more than most
other seasons. All of this can lead to symptoms, illnesses and
diseases. It's a different conceptual model than the Western
medicine, but it is useful to think from the inside out and
not just from the outside in when it comes to the causes of
disease.

What do we need to do to keep our cells and tissues healthy?
I believe that the body state and the internal health and strength
of the host—each of us—are more important factors in whether
we get sick, than the microbes to which we are exposed; yet,
germs still do affect us. That's why I encourage everyone to
practice high-level, healthy living, as I have written about for
decades. I have often said, "healthy bodies rarely get sick."

WHAT TO DO FOR FLU AND COLDS

If you do get a cold or the flu, it is best to take action immediately.
Drink lots of fluids, especially water, fresh juices and hot herbal
teas. Make a good pot of vegetable soup (with chicken or not)
and add ginger and garlic to it.

Exercise to sweat if you have enough energy.

Take a sauna or steam, as the increase in body heat may
stimulate your immune activity.

Vitamin C—I start with hourly vitamin C of 500–1000 mg.

Vitamin A—I take and often suggest increased doses of vitamin
A (not beta-carotene)—25,000–30,000 IUs 3–4 times daily for
just 3–4 days and then lower that dosage to 10–25,000 IUs twice
daily for a few days and then one cap (10,000 IUs) a day for a
week. Then take a break for a few days since vitamin A can be
toxic if taken too long in these higher amounts. Although when
we are fighting off infections, it doesn't seem to be problematic
and these higher amounts help us fight off germs in our mucous
membranes.

Garlic—I also use fresh garlic, taking several cloves at a time,
dipping them in honey and chewing them. I may repeat this
several times for the first day; alternatively, you can press a few
cloves into a bowl of hot soup. Garlic is a natural antibiotic and
immune defender; you could also use the odorless garlic caps,
several capsules three times daily, if you do not want the smell,
but they are not quite as effective.

Echinacea and Goldenseal—an extract (in alcohol) can also be
used to support immunity and cleanse the membranes; even
the alcohol in them is a disinfectant. Remember not to take
these herbs for longer than three weeks at a time.

Olive leaf extract—is a mild anti-viral herb and can provide
some support.

Oregano oil—in liquid or caps may also help us fight off
viruses. Try elderberry (good for fevers), licorice, astragalus
and grapefruit seed extract, all of which have some antiviral/
antibiotic effects. There are other herbal formulas that may help
protect against and/or fight off viral infections.

You can also use herbs and spices—that are body heaters such
as cayenne pepper and ginger root, which facilitate sweating
and often help fevers and colds. Hot ginger root tea (simmer a
few slices of root in a cup or two of water for 5–10 minutes) may
help with chest congestion and you can also use some of the
tea to make a compress and place the soaked cloth over your
upper chest. This is warming (which tends to stimulate blood
circulation) and helps break up congestion.

Zinc lozenges—may be helpful for sore throats. For coughs
and sore throats, also try slowly savoring and then swallowing a
mixture of honey (one teaspoon) with one to two teaspoons of
lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

NOTE on Fever and Aspirin: Children and teenagers with flu
symptoms (particularly fever) should avoid taking aspirin
during an influenza infection (especially influenza type B),
because doing so can lead to Reye's syndrome. In general (and
with children especially), unless a fever is high avoid trying to
lower it with medicines as the increased temperature is one way
your body fights infections.

Rest—finally remember that extra rest helps in healing. Often,
we get sick when we are out of balance or overdoing it, so we
should take this opportunity to rest and sleep. Also, if we are not
feeling too sick, this can be a chance to reflect and review our
lives, to stay in tune with the more inward spirit of the Winter
Season.

If you ever had a sore throat, then you know that it is no fun!
Your throat is tender and painful, as well as feeling scratchy
and burning. A really severe sore throat can even make
swallowing or talking rather painful.

Sore throats are a common malady prompting more than
13 million visits to the doctor’s offices each year.1

But sore throats are not as straightforward as you may
think. Sore throats are divided into three types, depending
on which part of the throat is affected. One type is called
pharyngitis which affects the area right behind at the mouth.
Another version is tonsillitis, which is the swelling and redness
of the tonsils, the soft tissue in the back of the mouth. And then
there is laryngitis, the swelling and redness of the voice box, or
laryngitis.

Sore Throats are Tricky to Diagnose
Unfortunately, not all sore throats are the same, which makes
them tricky to diagnose. Some sore throats are caused by a
bacterial infection and others are viral in origin. About 90 percent
of sore throats are the first sign or symptom of a viral infection
that then turns into a cold or flu. The discomfort of a sore throat
will generally disappear after a day or two to be followed by the
typical flu symptoms, i.e., runny nose, congestion, cough, red
or watery eyes and sneezing.

The other type of sore throat, called a strep throat, is due
to a streptococcus bacterial infection. Strep throats cause the
throat and tonsils to be inflamed and painful. This type of sore
throat may last two weeks or more, making swallowing and
talking difficult. While strep throats are commonly diagnosed
in children between the ages of 5 to 15, adults are by no means
immune. Unlike a sore throat that is from a virus, a strep throat
is a highly contagious bacterial infection spread by sneezing,
coughing, sharing foods and drinks, etc.

Another throat problem can be laryngitis, the inflammation
of the voice box, or larynx, an organ in your upper neck just
beyond the back of your throat. There are both infectious and
noninfectious causes of laryngitis. However, the most common
cause of laryngitis is a viral infection that lasts about one to two
weeks.

The non-infectious form of laryngitis can come from
straining the vocal cords due to singing, talking or shouting.
Breathing in chemical pollutants can also causes irritation and
inflammation of the larynx.

Loss of Voice
Excessively loud, prolonged and improper use of the voice
can lead to strained vocal cords. This occupational hazard of
overuse or misuse of vocal cords is a common problem for
singers and professional speakers (and overly enthusiastic
sports fans) resulting in hoarseness or temporary loss of their
voice. Even coughing can irritate and inflame the vocal cords
causing a sore throat and hoarse voice.

Other Health Issue Affecting the Mouth
Several conditions can also lead to problems in the mouth.
A mouth ulcer, also known as canker sore, is a small painful
lesion that develops in your mouth or at the base of your gums.
Although they usually disappear after a week or two, and are
not considered infectious or dangerous, they can certainly make
eating, drinking, and even talking very uncomfortable. While
there seems to be no definite causes, some of the potential
triggers include nutritional deficiencies, stress, viral or bacterial
infections, and food sensitivities.

Another common mouth problem is dry mouth, or the lack
of adequate saliva production. Contrary to popular belief, dry
mouth is not a normal part of aging. It is, however, the result of
compromised functioning of your saliva glands.

Medications often list dry mouth as a recognized side
effect. In fact, there are more than 500 prescriptions and overthe-
counter medications that cause dry mouth.2 Other causes
include dehydration, mouth breathing, autoimmune diseases
and radiation treatments for cancer.

Adequate saliva helps prevent tooth decay by neutralizing
acids produced by bacteria, limiting bacterial growth and
washing away food particles. Saliva also enhances the ability to
taste. Lack of saliva will reduce the presence of enzymes, which
are necessary for proper digestion. A persistent dry mouth
condition can, therefore, be the source of many health issues.

Silver Biotics and Manuka Honey—A Powerful Duo for the Mouth and Throat
When it comes to the health concerns affecting our mouth and
throat, there are, in fact, few safe and effective pharmaceutical
options. The viral form of strep throat has no medical
interventions while antibiotics are prescribed for the bacterial
version, increasing the risk of antibiotic resistance.

Most cases of laryngitis or strained vocal cords are cured
by resting the voice and limiting talking. While canker sores and
dry mouth remain a serious problem for many people, there are
only limited solutions available for resolving these problems.

The powerful duo of SilverSol® nano-silver and New Zealand
Manuka honey, found in the new Silver Biotics® Silver Lozenges,
is the latest breakthrough formula by American Biotech Labs
LLC. This unique product has the proven ability to resolve
throat irritation, while at the same time soothing hoarseness
and strained vocal cords and increasing saliva production. It
is formulated with a high concentration of SilverSol at 60 parts
per million(ppm) for effective throat soothing action.

The Proven Benefits of SilverSol Technology
For thousands of years, various forms of silver solutions have
been used for a wide variety of issues. Even the famous Greek
healer, Hippocrates, praised silver for its ability to promote
healing and improve recovery rates.

American Biotech Labs (winner of numerous medical innovation awards) has developed one of the most
effective nano-silver technologies in the world. They currently
hold more than 400 independent studies/test series from more
than 60 different private, US government, military and also
university labs, on their products.

Their innovative scientific, published medical reports have
challenged some of the greatest scientists in the world, covering
topics such as HIV, Malaria, Bird Flu, Influenza A (H3N2),
MRSA, VRE, and numerous other problem pathogens. As
evidence of safety and efficacy, their innovative silver products
have received numerous government clearances and approvals
from around the world.

Manuka Honey—Nature's Most Powerful Honey
Raw honey is truly a healing balm. Its wound healing benefits
have been know for thousands of years. Raw honey is known for
its potent antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Manuka honey has been proven to be a far superior form of
honey. Manuka honey is made from bees pollinating the flowers
of the Manuka bush, which grows wild in New Zealand. The
Manuka Bush, Leptospermum species of the shrub, contains
exceptionally strong antibacterial compounds.

What makes Manuka honey even more powerful for healing
is the discovery that its nutritional content is up to four times
that of normal flower honey. Research has found there are two
main components of Manuka, which gives it so many health
benefits:

Hydrogen peroxide, a naturally occurring antibiotic found in all honey

Methylglyoxal (MG) a powerful antibiotic compound found in large amounts in Manuka honey

It is the MG compound that sets Manuka honey apart from
other types of honey. MG is much more stable than hydrogen
peroxide and won't lose its antibacterial properties when
exposed to light and heat. For example, Manuka honey has been
shown to have 100 times more MG than other conventional
honeys and effective against 60 species of bacteria.3

A special global standard was created to identify and
measure the antibacterial strength of Manuka honey. This
Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) rating insures the medicinal
strength of the honey being sold. Only New Zealand honey from
the Manuka bush is eligible to receive this rating.

Based on the UMF rating system, a UMF number of at
least 5 guarantees therapeutic amounts of the antibacterial
properties of hydrogen peroxide and Methylglyoxal in a Manuka
honey product.

The Dynamic Synergy of Silver Biotics and Manuka Honey
There is no doubt about it. The synergy of SilverSol Technology.
and Manuka Honey (UMF) in the Silver Biotic Silver Lozenges
makes a powerful one two punch for the many challenges for a
healthy mouth and throat. This dynamic combination soothes
sore throats and laryngitis (due to hoarse or strained vocal
cords), and is beneficial for dry mouth issues.

Aside from the many medicinal benefits, Silver Biotics Silver
Lozenges are a great way to support and enhance your immune
system. Since they are formulated with a 60 ppm concentration
of SilverSol Nano-Silver, they can also be taken to strengthen
and enhance your immunity!

So, whether you desire added protection during flu season
or want to stay healthy while traveling on airplanes, etc, Silver
Biotics Silver Lozenges should be a part of your preventative
plan.

Silver Biotics Silver Lozenges are made with certified New
Zealand Manuka honey (UMF10) guaranteed for purity and
potency. The natural mint flavoring also gives the lozenges a
great taste! All the ingredients are organic and natural as well as
free of gluten, soy and nuts!

Once again we have to thank nature for a safe and effective
solution to the many health challenges affecting our mouth and
throat. Silver Biotics Silver Lozenges should always be at the
ready whenever there is the very first sign of a tickle, cough or
hoarseness! But also remember, they are a healthy treat for you
and your immune system!

Many of us start off the year with a determination—backed by a gym membership—
to get into shape and lose weight. It now is February.
How are those New Year's resolutions faring? Is it time for Plan B?

If that means diets and weight loss aids, there is no one-size-fits-
all. Choosing the right approach with realistic expectations
as to how much can be lost and how quickly will help prevent
frustration and disappointment, not to mention major weight
regain later in the year. Research in advance is the key. The
following are some major categories and rationales for weight
loss supplements:

Appetite suppressants and mood enhancers

Calorie (carbohydrate and/or fat) absorption blockers

Diuretics and laxatives

Metabolism enhancers and thermogenic agents

Nutrient partitioning agents

Of the above approaches, for many reasons, the most commonly
adopted method remains that of metabolism enhancers and
thermogenic agents. Typical ingredients for this tactic for weight
loss are bitter orange, caffeine, country mallow, green tea,
guarana, 7-keto DHEA, synephrine, yerba mate and yohimbe.
Inasmuch as one or more of these ingredients can lead to side
effects if used incorrectly or by individuals for whom they are
inappropriate, the following observations start by examining
thermogenic agents.

How Do Thermogenic Agents Function Within the Body To Burn Fat?
Thermogenesis literally means causing the production of
heat. Aside from the shivering response to cold, body heat
production is a side effect of exercise and or of increased basal
metabolic rate. The thermic effect of food ideally should be on
the order of 10 percent of calories consumed. Thermogenic
products are designed to stimulate the metabolism to be
above where it normally would be in order to burn additional
calories and to access fatty acids for this purpose. The most
common approach for achieving this is to manipulate one of
the body's hormonal signals, usually norepinephrine. Green
tea epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) reduces norepinephrine
degradation and thereby increases catecholamine-mediated
stimulation of β-adrenergic receptors and activates the
sympathetic side of the nervous system. Ingesting EGCG by
itself and in conjunction with caffeine prolongs the actions
of norepinephrine. This increases the metabolic rate, hence
increases energy expenditure by increasing the oxidation of
glucose and fat for energy and increasing calorie-consuming
actions. As a rule, there is a significantly greater mobilization
and utilization of fat for energy than glucose—in fact, most
metabolic stimulants cause fat to be released from storage
so that it is more readily available for energy generation. The
stimulation involved may make a person more wide awake and
even more inclined to exercise, but some of the stimulation may
involve what are termed "futile cycles" that consume energy
and create heat, but do not lead to physical exertion.

How Can Those Who Want To Avoid the Negative Effects of Stimulants Benefit From Thermogenic Agents?
There are at least three side effects that dieters should look to
avoid: 1) increased heart rate, 2) increased blood pressure and
3) excessive central nervous system stimulation. One solution
to the cardiovascular side of things is to improve the circulation,
especially to the heart. Hawthorne extracts help to open the
circulation of the coronary artery, that is, the main blood supply
to the heart. Herbs such as specialized grape seed extract and
wild bitter melon, similarly, are useful for supporting the body in
blood pressure regulation. The mineral magnesium is another
aid here in that it both helps to regulate blood pressure and is
calming to the nervous system.

Excessive stimulation that overly activates the central
nervous system leading to agitation, emotional control issues
and/or sleeplessness actually does not usually increase
thermogenesis, a fact that emerged from the ephedra-caffeine
trials at Harvard and elsewhere. The clearly thermogenic
combination of ephedra-caffeine increased energy expenditure
at low to moderate doses, but above a not particularly high level
of intake the amount of extra calories burned went down rather
than up. Moreover, excessive stimulation induces a release of
cortisol, which tends to cause the loss of lean tissue rather than
fat tissue.

For Consumers Who Use Caffeine To Increase Their Metabolism,
What Are the Concerns Surrounding Caffeine?

Caffeine definitely is a mixed bag when it comes to metabolism.

Looking only at caffeine by itself, there is evidence for acute increases in resting metabolic rate and thermogenesis, but habituation nullifies such benefits with chronic intake.

Habitual caffeine use reduces the benefits of caffeine/EGCG mixtures compared to findings in test subjects who do not consume significant amounts of caffeine regularly.

Overall, there is little or no support for the claim that caffeine by itself induces or maintains weight loss over the long term.

In short, caffeine is more useful for metabolic effect if
consumed with something like EGCG, such as from green tea,
but habituation is rapid. Caffeine-related compounds in green
mate appear to have more benefits over the long term than does simple caffeine. The health benefits of coffee, such as they
are, come from chlorogenic acid and related compounds, not
mainly from the caffeine.

Keep in mind, an intake of 700 mg or more caffeine per day
(about five cups of coffee) is often associated with depression
and mood swings. Some authorities draw the line at 600 mg
per day. Caffeine causes short-term increases in blood sugar
levels that can be followed by dramatic downward fluctuations.
Consuming caffeine, in other words, is yet another path to
the sugar "roller-coaster" of energy ups and downs and sugar
cravings. Cutting out caffeine and refined sugars for as little as
one week has been shown clinically to improve mood in many
individuals complaining of depression.1

What Are Some of the Concerns Surrounding Weight Loss Supplements, Such as Synephrine and Yohimbe?
No doubt, the major concerns are elevated blood pressure and
elevated heart rate. In addressing these concerns, the source of
synephrine is important. ρ-synephrine is an alkaloid occurring
naturally in some plants and animals. A related compound is
found in approved drugs as the m-substituted analog known as
neo-synephrine. Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) is a source of
ρ-synephrine, which does not seem to increase blood pressure
significantly, although it may have an effect on heart rate. (http://www.medsci.org/v09p0527.htm) m-Synephrine, often confused in the literature with ρ-synephrine, exhibits cardiovascular
effects, but reportedly is not a constituent of bitter orange. It
remains controversial whether ρ-synephrine exerts effects on
blood pressure and heart rate if consumed with large amounts
of caffeine or other stimulants.

ρ-Synephrine is used to increase energy expenditure and
lipolysis; ρ-synephrine is a β-3 adrenergic receptor agonist,
which is to say, a thermogenic compound. By itself, ρ-synephrine
as found in bitter orange is not associated with significantly
increased blood pressure or heart rate; no significant
α-adrenergic effects have been demonstrated, unlike the case
with, say, ephedrine.2 Again, synthetic synephrine is a slightly
different compound and can lead to high blood pressure and
other effects even at relatively modest doses.

It is neither necessary nor useful to push an intake of
ρ-synephrine above approximately 50 mg. Rather, greater energy
expenditure is induced by adding 600 mg naringenin to the
mixture and a further increase can be induced by adding 100 mg
hesperidin. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21537493)

Another widely promoted thermogenic herb is yohimbe
(Pausinystalia yohimbe). It is claimed as a thermogenic agent due
to its active component, yohimbine, an α-2 receptor antagonist.
Three double-blind RCTs, which included patients who were
> 15–20 percent over their ideal body weight or had a BMI
ranging between 28 and 48 and lasted three weeks to six
months, yielded weight loss only at three weeks on a restricted
diet, the loss being 1.34 kg greater than with placebo.3 However,
yohimbe exhibits erratic effects on blood pressure, heart rate
and neurological parameters with a high risk of toxicity.4

How Do the Satiety Supplements 5-HTP and Hydroxycitric Acid Work?
Items that affect serotonin, such as 5-HTP
(5-hydroxytryptophan) and St. John's Wort, may influence
mostly carbohydrate consumption. 5-HTP activates
serotogenic pathways and at 600 to 900 mg/day induces
weight loss of 3.1–3.7 pounds in 5–6 weeks without dieting.
At 900 mg, 70 percent of subjects experienced significant
nausea, but adjusted after six weeks.5 Although anyone being
treated with pharmaceutical psychoactive drugs should not use
5-HTP without their doctor's agreement, 5-HTP otherwise has
been found to be safe at ordinary dosages.6

(–)-Hydroxycitric Acid / HCA, always sold as a mineral salt,
is unusually well studied with at least 12 randomized placebo-controlled
trials, but studies have used different salts and widely
differing dosages. Mechanisms of action remain controversial.
HCA does not cross the blood-brain barrier, hence does not
influence the central nervous system directly; neither does it
depend on activating nerves involving the liver (vagal afferents).
HCA delays gastric emptying, however, and it prolongs glucose
absorption from the small intestine. The primary effects seem
to be to reduce between-meal snacking and to increase the
length of time that dieters feel satiated after meals. Potassium
and potassium-magnesium HCA salts are insulin sensitizing
at human acceptable dosages whereas calcium- and calcium-potassium
HCA salts are not. Apparently no one has tested the socalled
"triple" salts even in animals. Weight loss in randomized
controlled trials (RCTs) ranges from none to approximately 1/2
to one pound per week for eight weeks at higher dosages (2.8 g
HCA) of potassium-based salts. In other words, approximately
4.5 grams/day of a potassium-based salt can lead to as much
as one pound per week weight loss if taken as directed. Weight
loss normally starts after the first or second week of usage for
reasons having to do with refilling glycogen stores in the liver
and muscle as well as greater hydration of muscle tissue. No
toxicity or significant side effects have been found with properly
manufactured HCA salts in controlled trials and safety reviews.
Despite extremely widespread usage for roughly 25 years, only
a handful of adverse event reports have appeared, usually with
combination products and/or in cases in which the report could
not even name the HCA salt involved.7,8

Do Chia Seeds and Similar Foods Promote Satiety?
Good fiber sources, especially very viscous fibers, increase
satiety by increasing stomach distention (the feeling that
the stomach is extended and full) and reducing the rate of
gastric emptying. They also tend to reduce the rate at which
carbohydrates release glucose into the blood stream. Viscous
soluble fibers include, but are not limited to pectins, β-glucans,
psyllium, glucomannan and guar gum. Foods such as ground
flax seed, baked acorn squash, artichoke hearts and most
legumes are good fiber sources. Oats and barley are good
items, but not if they have been "instantized" since this process
causes them to act more like high-glycemic foods.

Protein sources also are good for satiety, although one can over-consume calories from protein just like anything else.
Plant protein sources are slower to be absorbed into the tissues
and thus may be especially good for prolonging satiety.
At the other end of the scale, fructose is a particularly
bad sugar for dieters and for health in general. Indeed, it is
significantly worse than glucose or sucrose according to recent
research.

How Do Fat and Carbohydrate Blockers Aid in Weight Management?
White kidney bean extracts and a number of other products,
including bitter melon, inhibit carbohydrate digestion by
inhibiting the actions of alpha-amylase and/or related
compounds. The drawback of these in the American diet is that
more and more calories in our diet are from corn sugar and
other simple sugars. Indeed, corn sugars often are the cheapest
binders and fillers available for processed foods. Carb blockers
may be helpful with traditional foodstuffs, but this is modern
America. Corn is subsidized and processed corn components
are everywhere.

HCA reduces the rate at which carbohydrates are available,
but it is not a traditional carbohydrate blocker. Its mechanism
of action is different in that it slows and prolongs the passage of
glucose across the gut membrane into the blood stream via its
effects on the sodium pump in the gut. There likely are a small
number of other supplements that work similarly.

A well-known lipase inhibitor (blocker of fat digestion) is
derived from Cassia Nomame Mimosoides. This item was created
to mimic the actions of a pharmaceutical weight loss product
that inhibits the absorption of 30 percent of fat found in the
diet. Concerns are sometimes expressed as to the wisdom on
preventing the proper digestion of fats in the small intestine.
Unlike carbohydrates, which can be acted upon by various
bacteria in the large intestine, the body is poorly equipped to
chronically handle fats not digested in the normal fashion. At
this point in time, even the pharmaceutical fat blockers have
largely disappeared and no trials seem ever to have been
undertaken to demonstrate the efficacy of "natural" fat blockers
claimed to be natural alternatives to the drugs.

Begin with Your Eating and Exercise Habits
To repeat a point made in articles in the past, diets that are
inadequate in terms of vitamins and minerals, and in many
cases protein, often coincide not only with weight gain, but
also with low energy levels and mood swings. The consumption
of a diet based largely upon sugars, refined carbohydrates,
soft drinks and "junk foods" in general is just not sufficient to
maintain good bodily health. If the overall quality of health is
poor, it is unlikely that mental functioning and emotional well-being
will fare any better. A powerful incentive for binge eating
and a source of sugar cravings is the effort to counter depression
and mood swings.

Remember, as well, the place of exercise. Exercise is less
important for its role in directly burning calories than for
increasing basal metabolic rate in the morning and helping
the body to access fats for energy. As little as 20 to 30 minutes
walking every day can help the body to relearn how to burn
fat for fuel. Walking early in the day has the added benefit of
speeding up the metabolism when this can do the most good
and also providing a daily dose of mood-brightening sunshine.
Before or after the evening meal are two other good times to
take a walk.

Infertility is becoming widespread these days but in the early 1900's, families with five children or more were commonplace. A century later, we now have fertility clinics available to women who want to just have one child. Infertility treatment is expensive and painful for couples who often become desperate after years of failed treatments. One common overlooked reason is low DHEA levels. DHEA is short for DeHydroEpiAndrosterone.

This is the "fountain of youth" hormone and it's a natural adrenal hormone which peaks at age 25, then steadily declines as we age. DHEA can be converted into testosterone and estrogen. Less DHEA means less of these sex hormones. Blood or saliva tests are available to gauge DHEA levels which must be in balance with other adrenal hormones, especially cortisol. High cortisol will cause you to hold on to belly fat.

Cortisol goes up in response to stress. Remember, these two are supposed to be in balance, like a see-saw. So you can see where I'm going with this. Cortisol climbs up and up in many women given the fast paced 21st century non-stop information overload, lack of sleep, caffeine, work-related stress, financial obligations or relationship stress. When it comes time to have a baby, cortisol could be high while DHEA levels may be seriously tanked! Some signs and symptoms include bad PMS (premenstrual syndrome), fatigue, brain fog, mood swings or high cholesterol.

But wait, the fertility doctor told you it was a low count of eggs! Yes that could be true, it's technically termed "Low Functional Ovarian Reserve" or LFOR, which could occur from aging ovaries. At puberty, you may have had 250,000 to 500,000 eggs, but by age 37 perhaps there are 25,000 eggs, and by the time you hit menopause you may have less than 1,000 eggs. If you have LFOR, a specialist in this field will often complement in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with DHEA supplements and/or testosterone medications. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Ovarian Research research supports it. Female participants received 75 mg of DHEA for three consecutive menstrual cycles prior to IVF experiences. Those who received DHEA had more embryos leading to more successful pregnancies. But don't supplement with DHEA by yourself, dosing is dependent on many factors, especially genes which I study every day.

Your response and metabolism of DHEA is dependent on your personal genetic variants meaning supplementation can be good or bad depending on your genes. Cellular and animal studies show that SNPs in any of the following genes affect your metabolism of DHEA: Aromatase, steroid 5?-reductase, sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), fragile X mental retardation protein and breast cancer type 1 (BRCA1 gene) can affect levels of androgens in women. Short of screening yourself for all potential genetic variants, I think it's better for you to just do hormonal assessments to see if you have low DHEA or low testosterone.

I've been a pharmacist for 25 years now. Let's face, I know the good, the bad and the ugly drugs. I know we need some of them, and I know that others are not useful, or worse, they are harmful. So today I've decided to share the best remedies that help from head to toe:

Headaches- Taking butterbur (Petasites hybridus) at a dose of 75mg twice daily helps reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines. You can take all the triptan drugs you want (ie Imitrex, Zomig or others) but these drugs usually just reduce pain, sometimes they abort a headache. The butterbur may slash the number of attacks in half. This is HUGE if you have to hold down a job or take care of kiddos. I discussed butterbur and dozens of other solutions my book, Headache Free.

Hypothyroidism- It's impossible to have healthy thyroid function without selenium. Not only will it hinder your ability to make thyroid hormone, it will also stifle your ability to use the hormone inside the cell. There's more about selenium, iodine, B12 and ashwagandha at my website where I archive other articles on thyroid health.

Heart Failure- Niacin (vitamin B3) was found to reduce heart attack and stroke risk in a 2010 study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Doses vary tremendously, so please do nothing until you have your physician's approval. Niacin causes vasodilation (opens vessels) which reduces arterial pressure. I would be remiss if I didn't mention CoQ10 while discussing the heart or heart failure. CoQ10 also lowers blood pressure. I like about 100 to 200 mg daily but again, please always ask your doctor what's right for you.

Digestive disorders- My number one go-to supplement is probiotics. These improve digestion and support a healthy immune system and mood. Digestive enzymes break down the food you eat into absorbable molecules. For heartburn, I recommend slippery elm or marshmallow root. As for nausea and vomiting, ginger tea is gentle and popular. It's a mild blood thinner though, so be careful. And finally peppermint supplements can help with irritable bowel syndrome. The value of peppermint has been discussed many times, even in the British Medical Journal in 2008.

Bone loss- We all know about calcium. But did you know without enough magnesium, vitamin D or K2, you don't even incorporate the calcium into your bones?! So keep in mind the best bone-building supplements contain key minerals, you don't just push one like calcium all by itself. Natural strontium is another over-the-counter mineral used for bone integrity.

Painful knees- Glucosamine sulfate promotes cartilage formation. Collagen is another supplement that reduces pain in the knee joint of osteoarthritis sufferers. A 2012 study in the Annals of Rheumatic Disease found that losing weight helped reduce the amount of cartilage loss while increasing proteoglycan content (squishiness).

Toenail fungus- Apply essential oil of tea tree, and eliminate all sugars. You should also be checked for diabetes if you have a lot of toenail fungus.

Many of you take bisphosphonate drugs for bone loss and you write to me with complaints. Lawyers handle cases now due to the reports of catastrophic reactions like osteonecrosis or femur fractures. It's a terrible irony.

Here's another idea. Nobiletin. This is different than strontium which I've written about before. Nobiletin is a powerful "polymethoxylated" flavonoid that comes from the white stringy fiber and peel of citrus fruits (termed "pith"). You probably spit that out, throw it away or put it in your compost pile don't you? Tangerines and Mandarin oranges have awesome amounts of nobiletin, however other citrus rinds such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruit also contain nobiletin.

Nobiletin has been researched extensively over the last 10 to 15 years. It positively impacts cholesterol and reduces inflammation. Great news for those struggling with atherosclerosis and heart disease, or those of you supported on statin cholesterol drugs. Nobiletin also blocks the NF kappaB pathway which induces pain. Nobiletin has anti-cancer activity, confers brain protection and improved symptoms of Alzheimer's in an animal model. Since I'm already on a tangent, I'll also tell you that adolescents and adults dealing with acne may benefit by nobiletin because it blocks sebum production. Now, let me circle back to your skeleton.

Bone loss in humans occurs as the result of one of two things. Either your bone cells fail to make new bone, or you break down old bone too quickly. There needs to be a steady balance: Discard old bone, make new bone, discard old bone, make new bone. You probably didn't realize your bones are not solid, they are dynamic throughout your lifetime.

Two major players affect the process of bone building. One is inflammation and the other is estrogen. Chronic low grade inflammation and/or too little estrogen contribute to osteoporosis.

Research published in the Journal of Pharmacological Science showed very promising evidence of nobiletin on bone health. Scientists used rodents that had their ovaries removed (which causes estrogen deficiency). Nobiletin was given, and stopped the progression of osteoporosis. Not only that, it significantly restored bone mass in severely osteroporotic critters!

How you wonder? This natural citrus derived antioxidant suppressed pathways responsible for inflammation, namely the COX2, NF-kappa B, and prostaglandin pathways. Just amazing when you think about the potential harm done by bisphosphonate drugs given by conventional physicians. By no means am I saying an orange a day will keep the hip fracture away! But regular consumption of citrus fruits or pith-derived supplements might help, and can usually be taken with certain medications (not all). Ask doc if it's okay for you, and look online or at health food stores nationwide. It's sold as Sytrinol, or as "citrus bioflavonoids" and I want you to be real careful because some of the products contain "naringen" which comes from grapefruit and this compound can dangerously spike your blood levels of medications. My point is self-treatment with natural dietary supplements -even wonderful ones- may not be right for you. Find yourself a holistic-minded practitioner to ask.

Are you worried about painful cold sores? They are highly contagious. If you kiss someone with a cold sore, or drink from their cup, you could get it too. I don't personally get them, so last week, I inwardly freaked out when the woman who was giving me a much-needed manicure had two large blisters on her lips. This incident made me wonder what I would do if I had these painful sores, and how can I help you with them.

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV) which belongs to a large family of herpes pathogens which cause chicken pox, shingles or keratitis (can cause corneal blindness). Millions of folks carry herpes viruses, and the cold sores in particular are not only embarrassing, but painful too. Oral herpes causes cold sores on the lips, inside the roof of your mouth or on your gums. Genital herpes causes lesions where the sun don't shine. Either way, ouch!

You can get it if someone touches their sore, then you; you can get it sharing utensils or kissing and making out. Once inside your body, your immune system jumps to it and hopefully it's just a single episode. If your immune system is sluggish, you're in for a lifelong battle with frequent outbreaks. The frequency is impacted by your diet, lifestyle and immune strength (which is dependent on having healthy intestinal flora).

Running yourself into the ground with chronic stress or worry can activate the virus and cause lesions. Pulling all-nighters, eating candy bars, drinking alcohol, smoking, eating white flour goodies and junk food can increase risk. Ingesting foods you are intolerant to, or being deficient in probiotics can increase those flare-ups. Diets high in arginine are thought to activate herpes so avoid avoid all nuts, cashews, chocolate, cereal, lentils and sunflower seeds.

Antiviral drugs like acyclovir or Valtrex are commonly used to treat HSV infections. Unfortunately, there are increasing problems with drug resistance, similar to the problem with antibiotics and superbugs. If you do take the antiviral drug and use them long term, often there are plenty of side effects and potential damage to the kidneys and liver. I'm passionate about natural remedies, so here's a few to ponder:

Lemon balm. I'd make a tea out of this, and drink it. Let the herb steep (not boil) for about 15 minutes then drink. I'd also apply it to your sore with a cotton pad. You can cool the tea first to make it feel better upon application.

Curcumin. It's well known for antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial power but it also fights HSV which means it could help you reduce the frequency and severity of your infection. We have a study to show that. Supplement, or try applying a mini-poultice to your lip sore by mixing turmeric spice with just enough water to form a paste. For extra effect, dump a little curcumin powder from your capsule into the mixture.

Lavender and myrrh. Buy both of those and combine them, apply to the sore. Dilute if it stings.

For more natural remedies, come to my website, www.SuzyCohen.com and sign up for my newsletter. You'll get the longer version of this article with more pain-relieving tips.

Have you ever had a sore throat, been stung by a bee, or twisted your ankle? Do you have arthritis, back pain or headaches? Whenever you are in pain, even post-surgical pain, your body makes compounds in response to the injury which cause temporary redness, heat, swelling, and pain. Then naturally produced enzymes in your body eat up these inflammatory compounds, and that is when you notice the swelling goes down, the pain is relieved and the redness or stiffness recedes.

One second ago, an enzyme in your body called superoxide dismutase (SOD) just chased out a cancer-causing toxin that your cell accidentally spawned. You make all sorts of enzymes, and what's cool is that you can also buy certain enzymes as a dietary supplement, including SOD. Lactose is an enzyme that chews up milk sugars, helping some people to tolerate milk. Bromelain, derived from pineapples, helps with allergies and helps people post-surgically. It might even reduce scarring if taken soon enough. People who take acid blockers could benefit from papain, an enzyme derived from papaya fruit that works nicely with your stomach's pH range.

Proteolytic enzymes another type of enzyme. They chew up proteins and help with digestion. I think they're great for chronic pain syndromes. They help dissolve fibrin deposits which helps bruising. As a teenager (way back in the 1980's) we played a game called Pac Man. Remember?(Please tell me you remember). This popular arcade game included a Pac-Man which traveled a maze and gobbled up ghosts. I was a monster at Pac-Man in my hey day! Proteolytic enzymes work in the same way, they just gobble up debris, as opposed to ghosts.

With less debris, there is improved circulation. That means more oxygen and healing nutrients to the site of injury. As a pharmacist, I recommend you reach for proteolytic enzymes before you NSAIDs such as acetaminophen, naproxen or ibuprofen. Why? Because they are temporary and they have side effects. It's the equivalent of applying a bandage, and while most of you fair out well, the unlucky few experience diarrhea, nausea, headaches, dizziness, bleeding ulcers or heaven forbid, kidney damage. Besides, if you mask your pain with medicine, but continue to operate as normal, you increase your risk of permanent damage.

A German paper studied proteolytic enzymes in 100 athletes. The results were shocking. More than 75 percent said the enzyme treatment was favorable and no side effects were reported! So incredible were the results that the German government sent millions of enzyme capsules to the Olympics to help their athletes heal quicker.

Enzymes are a necessity to life, just like oxygen, food, clean water and shelter. (Some may argue that chocolate should be included as well).

For chronic pain syndromes, as opposed to digestive issues, I recommend that you take your proteolytic enzyme supplement on an empty stomach. This increases the 'Pac-Man' effect by up to 40 percent. While these supplements are generally well-tolerated, I occasionally hear of allergies, rashes and digestive upset.

You're methylating right now! This means you're turning folate (vitamin B9) from your food, into something else called SAMe. It's the process called "methylation" and SAMe is your body's head honcho, the CEO if you will!

SAMe stands for S-adenosylmethionine and drives hundreds of chemical reactions in your body. If you ate a salad for lunch, you're turning that folate into SAMe as we speak. Well, let's hope because SAMe helps you get rid of poisons. The biggest mistake you could make is thinking that methylation problems don't apply to you because you don't have the gene mutation, what we call the genetic snp (pronounced "snip"). Nothing could be further from the truth. As a pharmacist, and a Functional Medicine practitioner, I assure you that your medicine has the capacity to mess up your methylation! Then poisons back up.

Don't think you make poisons in your body because you eat well and exercise? Wrong. Your cells churn poisons out as metabolic waste products probably a million times a minute! You better hope and pray your methylation pathway is up to snuff because if you don't methylate, toxic by-products build up all over your body. This equates to pain, depression, inflammation, elevated homocysteine, cognitive dysfunction, depression, higher risk for neural tube defects and much more discomfort. If you have the genetic snp it's a one-two punch for health problems galore.

So in summary, medications hinder your methylation pathway, whether or not you have a snp. These are the primary offenders:

Cholestyramine. This is a bile acid sequestrate used for reducing cholesterol as well as reducing Herxheimer (die-off) reactions. It is a drug mugger of folate and fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D, A, E and K. Remember, no folate, no methylation!

Birth control or hormonal replacement drugs with estrogen. these drugs are known drug muggers of magnesium, B6 and B2 (riboflavin); that puts the breaks on methylation. Started 'The Pill' recently, and now you feel down in the dumps? This could be why.

Nitrous oxide. Been to the dentist lately? If you got NO gas, then no methylation took place for awhile!

There are hundreds of other medicines that hinder your ability to methylate, snp or not! You may not have your genetic details or tests yet, so here are clues to poor methylation: Nerve pain, numbness or tingling, chronic fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, depression, mood swings, attention problems, cervical dysplasia, miscarriage, brain fog, weakness and lots of allergies.

According to a recent article in Newsweek
Magazine the answer is yes, but I don't think
all of the information has been gathered yet.
The article is entitled "The Doctor (Watson)
Will See You Now" and it generates some
interesting concerns. Over 80 percent of
illness is preventable and yet we only spend five percent of
health dollars on prevention. And, over 60 percent of adults
have a chronic disease with healthcare costs slated to reach
100 percent of our GNP by 2065, according to a leading
British economist. The current healthcare system is broken
and must be improved, but is artificial intelligence by itself
going to be the answer?

First, one of the AI developers is working with the Cleveland Clinic, which could be good if it is the Cleveland Clinic group working on Functional Medicine.

Secondly, the article admits that diabetes is reversible, but also indicated that it is rarely treated that way. This reminds me of a quote from Dr. Mark Hyman during a Senate Health Committee hearing when he said, "We will not solve the current health care crisis if we just continue to do the wrong things better." Here are a few things Dr. Hyman was referring to:

We cannot continue to use outdated diagnostic tools that are only able to identify diseases that have already started. This is totally unacceptable when we now have proven tests that can find cells misbehaving five to ten years before a disease begins.

And, why do we continue to treat the symptoms of illness with drugs that usually don't address the cause of the problem and often create terrible side effects?

Artificial Intelligence platforms can help to improve health
and reduce cost, but only if they use Functional Medicine
where the platform finds most disease before it starts (80
percent are preventable) and reverses the rest with only
safe, effective and less costly protocols based on Functional
Medicine. There is such a platform and it has now been
shown to reduce cost by over 15 percent per year. This was
accomplished by using an artificial intelligence wellness
platform with 20,000 employees over a five-year period.
If you would like to demo this amazing program, please
contact us.

Caring for our selves and finding ways to handle
our stresses are clearly important practices for
assuring our long-term health. They are definitely key
aspects of Preventive Medicine, Along With the right nutrition
and exercise programs for our body, getting proper sleep, and
maintaining a positive attitude toward our self, others, and
the world. Learning the individual lifestyle path that generates
health rather than disease is really the finest art of medicine and
personal development, and an extremely important process in
which to invest. Let's look at ways to protect our body and heart
from the negative effects of stress and to create better health.

A self-inventory
One of the first steps in stress reduction is an honest inventory
of where we are. Ask yourself:

What is my biggest life challenge now?

Is anything very out of balance in my life? If so, what is upsetting me?

Why don't I feel fully relaxed, happy, and able to sleep well?

What do I need to do to restore balance?

Is there anything I can do something about?

For most of us, the key life challenges are in areas of:

Health–how we care for ourselves and the result we hu-manifest,

Career–what we share with the world and the support that is returned, and

Relationships–how we give and receive love.

If we can master these three primary areas of life, some might
say we're near enlightenment.

Expectations
One of the sources of stress is inner tension between what we
expect of ourselves and what actually happens. Often these
expectations are quite unconscious. It's important to identify
unspoken expectations or attachments. Sometimes we need to
work a little harder to bring reality in line with our expectations—
and to really go for our dream.

Letting Go
At other times, we need to develop more detachment to let
go of counter-productive thoughts or desires. In this effort, a
meditation practice can be very valuable. All the major religions
of the world include some type of meditation or prayer. Your
practice can be aligned with your spiritual beliefs.

Types of Stress (adapted from the Anti-Stress Program of
Staying Healthy with Nutrition textbook)

Stress comes in many forms. For example, many of us are
surprised to learn that intense joy is a source of stress, but since
it requires more of our body and mind, it genuinely qualifies as stress (with an increased heart rate and the manufacture of
certain neurotransmitters, such as adrenaline). Exercise can
also be a stressor even though it is great for us. This is because
of the repetitive movement in certain areas of the body, and
because we create and release more free radicals and toxins
into the blood and tissues. This biochemical process can best
be handled by being sure you drink enough water and take
antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamins A and C. According
to researchers on stress, the most optimal combination for
vitamin C is to pair it with the bioflavonoid, quercetin.

The various types of stress and some of the factors that
contribute to them include:

Mental—high responsibility; financial or career pressures; working long hours at mental tasks, perfectionism, anxiety, and worry

Biochemical—deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, specific amino acids, protein, or fats and fatty acids; food allergies; genetic errors in metabolism that can result in alcoholism, other addictions, or mental illness

Toxic—environmental pollutants such as pesticides, cleaning solvents, and other toxins; non-organic foods with additives; and the use of chemicals such as prescription and OTC drugs, in cosmetic and hair products, and overuse/abuse of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine

What is Stress?

Please realize that stress is not dictated by situations or
incidents themselves; rather, real stress comes from the way
we react to the issues of our lives. For stress to negatively
influence our health, we must experience something as danger.
If we experience a threat as stress, we may go into fight-or-flight
mode, which shifts us into the sympathetic (adrenaline) side
of our nervous system. That means our body actually prepares
to battle or run, i.e. "fight or flight." Our circulation slows and
there may be greater muscle tension; our digestion slows down,
heart rate goes up, and we begin using up important nutrients.
Often immune function is affected—our level of T-cells may
even be depressed. And clearly then, we are more prone to
become ill or "catch whatever's going around."

Sometimes there's no way around stress. For example, when
a child falls on the playground, or we're putting out a fire, our body
prepares us for the emergency so we can respond immediately.
That's the way it should be as this level of response/reaction
allows us to be more alert and ready for action.

But sometimes stress is subtler—and it may be more
psychological or emotional. When there really is no physical
danger, our body may still react as if there is. Then, if there's no
physical activity to provide an outlet for the increased internal
activity, the response may remain inward and play havoc with
our physiology and organs, as well as with our emotions and our
mind. At that point, we run the risk of exhausting the adrenal
glands and flooding our body with metabolic toxins, such as
damaging free radicals (associated with the aging process and
diseases such as heart disease and cancer). This example also
shows the reason why "a walk to cool down" really is a good idea.

When we're under emotional or mental stress, and still stay
in a relaxed mode, we can respond more calmly and experience
less emotional and biochemical wear-and-tear. Then our body
doesn't shift into full battle mode and begin pouring out the
chemical signals that we're in danger and must react. This
relaxed approach usually leads to a better outcome as well.

Anti-Stress Nutrients
Many anti-stress formulas are based on the B-complex
vitamins and vitamin C because these important nutrients are
all significantly depleted by stress. In addition, stress-related
problems may be compounded by deficiencies resulting from
generally poor nutrition. All of the B vitamins are important
here—especially pantothenic acid (B5). B5, folic acid, and
vitamin C are essential for the functioning of our adrenal
glands. The adrenals carry perhaps the greatest load when our
body is under stress.

The B-complex vitamins are ideally taken two or three times
a day, particularly when we are under a lot of stress. This is
especially important if the stress lasts over a period of months—
for example from a big project at work or a challenging job,
a chronically ill child or parent, unemployment, divorce—any
of the life events that tend to deplete us over time. It's best
to take the B-vitamins before dark so that we don't become
over-stimulated when it's time to wind down and relax. I do
suggest more minerals in the evening, as they tend to help with
relaxation, especially a calcium and magnesium supplement.
However, most vitamins and minerals are best assimilated if
they're taken with a meal.

Note: Prolonged stress or lack of sleep can lead to a myriad of health
problems. If these issues do not resolve with home treatment, you may
need to see your doctor or other health professional.

Stress is a funny word. Loaded with the
emotional bias of being a “bad”
thing, the word stress can be quite
deceiving, making it harder to handle than it needs to be. So
we will offer a new way to look at it—and very effective ways
to address it.

As the healing arts grows, it is important to remember that
there are four key domains in healing:

Biochemistry. This includes herbals, nutrition and medications.

Structural. Including areas such as manipulation, surgery, breathing, exercise, and ergonomics.

Biophysics. For example, Acupuncture, Chakra work, Yoga, and NAET.

Mind-Body-Spirit. Understanding how the body is a metaphor for what is occurring at a deeper level. For most illnesses, including anxiety and even cancer, complete healing is unlikely to occur unless this is also attended to.

You will find that healing occurs best when all four of these
areas are addressed. No individual healer is likely to have
complete expertise in all of these areas. As our new healthcare
system evolves, and the current one heads to extinction, it is
good to see health practitioners from diverse backgrounds
communicating and working together more.

So let's look at how a Comprehensive Medicine approach
works when addressing anxiety and stress. I will focus
predominantly on mind-body and biochemical aspects, as
these are where my expertise is.

Treating Mind-Body Issues
Stress is not inherently good or bad. In fact, stress can be used
to force flowers to bloom, and this analogy applies to people as
well. The problem is when stress becomes chronic, and is no
longer enjoyable. This then contributes to chronic elevation of
the stress hormone cortisol, directly triggering anxiety. As the
excessive stress becomes chronic, cortisol levels then go too
low—ironically also triggering anxiety by causing recurrent bouts
of low blood sugar.

A simple way to tell if stress is healthy? Simply check in to see
how it feels. If it feels good, it is healthy. What is enjoyable can
vary markedly from person to person. For example I enjoyed the
stress of skydiving, while for my wife it would feel awful.

A Novel Treatment
The key stress antidote? Check in to see how things feel. This
is so important, that I am being purposely redundant. Learn
to say NO to things that feel bad. Leave your brain out of it.
Our brain is the product of our societal and family training. It
simply feeds back to us what we were taught that we should do
to make others happy. Our feelings, on the other hand, tap into
our own personal authenticity. So choose to focus on, and do,
those things that feel good. Once you've determined what feels
good, then your mind can figure out how to make it happen.

And yes, it is OK to simply choose to focus on what feels
good in life, without being in constant battle mode against
things you don't like. Like food choices at a buffet, we don't
have to protest for the removal of those foods we don't choose
to eat. Simply ignore them and pick those things you like. You
will find that the rest will soon stop appearing in your life. This
is part of how I suspect “free will” works. Our focus is like the
remote control on our TV. What we focus on keeps showing up
on our screen. This is why our constant “Wars on…” just seem
to create more of what we are attacking.

Is it truly OK to do what feels good? Some will make the
argument that “Heroin feels good, and perhaps also smacking
that person who makes me angry over the head with a two-byfour.”
This is why we add two caveats:

Don't hurt others.

Ask yourself “How is that working out for me?”

Doing this, people will find their anxiety is often coming from
their choosing what they think they should do over what feels
good (i.e. doing what others want, instead of what is authentic
to them). Notice if you are constantly feeling, “I should do this,
or I should do that.” This is euphemistically called “Shoulding
on yourself.” I invite you to change that toxic behavior.

If hyperventilation is present, one will usually have buried
feelings that are bubbling to the surface during periods of
relative calm. Counseling to help them learn to feel their
feelings helps over time. Also, as panic attacks often leave
people feeling like they are going to die, understanding that the symptoms are not dangerous helps. Simply being told this
may not be enough to reassure you though. You can confirm
hyperventilation is the cause by breathing rapidly for up to
30–60 seconds and seeing how it amplifies your symptoms.
Unfortunately, this can also precipitate a full-blown panic
attack, so be forewarned, and pick a safe time and place to do
this test!

My e-book, “Three Steps to Happiness—Healing through
Joy,” can help guide you through the mind-body healing process.

Balance The Biochemistry
Begin with ruling out and treating overt issues, including:

Overactive thyroid. Consider this if your Free T4 thyroid test is even in the upper 20th percentile of the normal range.

Low progesterone (women). Progesterone is like our body's natural Valium. Consider this if anxiety is worse around menses and ovulation.

Low testosterone (men). Consider if testosterone levels are in the lower quarter of the normal range.

Adrenal fatigue—caused by drops in blood sugar. A key tip-off? Irritability and anxiety that triggers sugar cravings and improves after eating.

Also optimize nutrient status, especially magnesium and B
vitamins. Instead of blood testing, which is of questionable
value here, I simply recommend (for most people—whether or
not they have anxiety) a high potency multi powder called the
Energy Revitalization System (by Enzymatic Therapy). With this,
one drink replaces well over 35 pills, optimizing levels of most
nutrients. Also have the person decrease sugar and caffeine
intake to see if this helps.

Herbals can also be very helpful. For example, there is a
unique extract, which can be as effective as Xanax, but is very
safe. This special extract stimulates one of the most abundant
neuroreceptors in the body, the cannabinoid receptors. Many of
you may recognize this as the marijuana receptor, and in fact
many people use cannabis to self-medicate for their anxiety.
But what if you could get the benefits without the sedation
and side effects?

The good news is that now you can. Recent research
showed that a special extract of the roots of the narrow leafed
coneflower (Echinacea angustifoliae) was more effective than
the tranquilizer Librium, with none of the side effects. It also
worked quickly, with effects building with continued use. This is
not the same component used for immune enhancement, and
isn't found at needed levels in standard Echinacea. It is available
though as AnxioCalm (by EuroPharma—20 mg per tablet).

Let's look at a few studies of this unique extract.
A study published in the March 2012 issue of Phytotherapy
Research included 33 volunteers. All experienced anxiety,
assessed using the validated State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
(STAI). The extract decreased STAI scores within three days,
an effect that remained stable for the duration of the treatment
(seven days) and for the two weeks that followed treatment.
There were no dropouts and no side effects.

So I begin with two tablets of AnxioCalm 2x day for severe
anxiety. After three weeks, the dose can often be dropped to
one 20 mg tablet twice a day. It can also simply be used as
needed, and serves as an excellent sleep aid.

Other helpful herbals include valerian, passion flower,
hops, theanine, and lemon balm. These can be found in a
combination called the “Revitalizing Sleep Formula,” which
helps anxiety during the day and sleep at night. I personally
use both AnxioCalm and the Revitalizing Sleep Formula at
night to ensure 8–9 hours of deep sleep.

The smell of lavender oil is also calming, and a small
drop on the upper lip, or even having a lavender bouquet in
one's room, can be helpful.

Structural And Biophysics
Simply going for regular walks in the sunshine, and doing
yoga, tai chi, and meditation can be very helpful. A technique
called centering can help people feel that they are in the calm
“eye of the cyclone” when panic attacks hit. In addition, it is
helpful to explore a technique called Butyko breathing, which
can be very helpful for anxiety and hyperventilation.

For PTSD or old emotional traumas, a technique called
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) can give near miraculous
benefits in as little as 20 minutes (see EFT.Mercola.com). It
may seem odd, but try it and you'll be amazed. Releasing
old traumas through a simple “trembling” technique is also
helpful, and the person can do it on their own. It is easy and
simple instructions can be found in the book Waking the Tiger.

By having the entire healing arts toolkit available, and
not just using the “medical hammer,” anxiety can now be
effectively treated!

Not a month goes by without headlines in the media proclaiming
either that vitamins do amazing things or that they do nothing
at all. Such concerns no longer are limited to those whose
jobs are to raise such issues. Individuals purchasing health
foods and related products increasingly are asking questions
about the cost and effectiveness of supplements. Likewise,
governmental watchdog agencies, such as the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), expect that the manufacturers and
marketers of nutrients and herbs be able to back up claims
with sound research. Total Health Magazine Online took an
in-depth look at some of the issues back in 2011, for which see
“Are Vitamin Supplements Safe?”

Unfortunately, responses to these demands for better
backing for claims often are less than satisfactory. Marketing-driven
science is as common as is science-driven marketing.
Distinguishing between the two requires familiarity with the
standards that universities and research institutions have
adopted to evaluate medical evidence. This means knowing
about the types of studies available and about the elements
found in every properly designed study.

There are three basic types of clinical investigations: case-control
studies, cohort studies and randomized controlled
trials. For most nutritional supplements, the last of these is
the primary form of investigation. However, for completeness,
a few words should be spared to describe the other two.
Case-control studies start with individuals who have already
developed a disease or special condition and the controls are
matched individuals who do not have the disease in question.
An example is an analysis of heart disease rates in male
smokers versus rates in otherwise similar males who have
never smoked. This is an observational study because there
is no intervention by the researchers. The strength of this
study type is that it allows researchers to explore how variables
influence the development of the condition being examined.
The major drawback is that the study can easily be biased with
regard to observations and other factors.

Cohort studies differ from case-control studies in that
researchers start with individuals who have not yet developed
the disease or condition being investigated. Hence, a cohort
study on athletic supplements might start with two groups
of similar athletes before one group begins supplement
use. The analysis would consist of determining whether the
group taking the supplement improved as measured by some
marker for performance or perhaps had fewer injuries. This
is an observational study because there is no intervention by
the researchers. Cohort studies have the virtue of allowing
investigators to more reliably establish whether a particular
action (taking a supplement) leads to a particular outcome
(fewer injuries). However, cohort studies may require years
of following the subjects and also depend upon the subject
populations being properly identified as identical with regard
to the studied condition(s) at the start of the study rather
than being weighted with some underlying predisposition. In
other words, it is easy to introduce bias into cohort studies.

In many ways, the “gold standard” of investigational
studies is the randomized placebo-controlled double-blind
clinical trial. Ideally, the trial population is relatively
uniform to start. Subjects are then randomly assigned to
active and placebo arms, further helping to reduce any bias
or predisposition in the groups being tested. The test is
double-blind, meaning that neither the participants nor the
investigators know who is taking the compound being tested.
Finally, inasmuch as there often is a large psychological effect
(the placebo or “sugar pill” effect) during the first weeks of
a study, there is an arm of the trial that receives an item that
appears to be identical to the compound being tested, but
which has no effect. Note that this is an intervention study—
the research actively intervenes by giving the compound to be
studied to one or more of the arms in the trial. The idea here
is to clearly demonstrate whether there is a cause and effect
relationship between the item being studied and the outcome
with the subjects. When possible, there is also a “cross-over”
phase in which, after a sufficient washout period, the group
that was used as the placebo arm becomes the active group
and the group that had been the active arm becomes the
placebo group. Not all studies lend themselves to this, but
cross-over studies insure that there are no unrecognized
predispositions in the subject that might bias the test results.
All of this sounds good in theory. Unfortunately, as shortly
will be shown, this “gold standard” of clinical trials still can
be biased in a variety of ways.

The design of trials involves at least one more component that
is important for evaluating whether the results of a given study
are weak or strong.

The first step in any clinical trial is the production of
a study protocol. This protocol presents three very
important elements. First is the hypothesis of the study:
what question is the study intended to answer?

Second is the study population: how and why were
subjects picked to be in the study; what are the criteria
for inclusion and exclusion; are special conditions
involved?

Third is the size of the study sample: how many
subjects are needed to insure that the results represent
true findings rather than mere chance? All studies
contain these three elements and the validity of these
components—was the study question correctly framed,
was the proper study population chosen, was the study
carried on for an appropriate period of time, were enough
subjects included to yield statistical significance, etc.—
are essential for evaluating the worth of the trial.

Before moving to examples of weak and strong of clinical trials,
a few words need to be said regarding statistical significance.
The usual cut-off level is given as “p< 0.05,” which means there
is only a five percent chance that the study findings represent
mere chance. Some statistical models are more strict than
others for performing this calculation, but readers actually need
to be worried about something else, which is the study sample
size. If a study uses, say, only seven subjects per arm, the small
size of the study means that the reported effect will need to be
very large to achieve statistical significance. Conversely, and
one sees this all the time in pharmaceutical studies, a trial monitoring 100,000 subjects may find significance for what,
in practice, are effects that are so weak that they are clinically
only marginally useful!

As noted above, randomized placebo-controlled double-blind
clinical trials are considered to be the ggold standardh
for research. Nevertheless, many such trials are quite weak
and misleading. For one thing, it all to often turns out to be
the case that the placebo is not actually inactive, for instance,
the practice of using maltodextrin or other sugars as the so-called
placebo in weight loss studies. Relatedly, especially in
studies involving weight loss, the placebo effect can be very
strong for many weeks. The placebo effect in diet studies
commonly leads to the loss of two pounds in eight weeks, and
much more if diet and exercise changes are included. A BBC
News report on the Internet (March 10, 2004) on trials of the
drug rimonabant noted that participants taking the placebo
were five pounds lighter at the end of one year. In some large
pharmaceutical diet trials in which subjects changed behavior,
diet and exercise, the weight loss in two months using the
placebo exceeded 11 pounds!

Similarly, if exercise is included in a weight loss trial
with healthy subjects, then LDL cholesterol, total
cholesterol, triglycerides and leptin levels normally
will go down, whereas HDL cholesterol will go up.
Moderately increasing the amount of protein in the diet,
likewise, will produce such trends. Hence, if a weight loss trial
includes exercise and a controlled diet with increased protein,
yet reports results opposite of these or fails to find weight loss
in participants using the placebo (as happened recently in a
highly promoted trial), then the reader should seriously wonder
whether there was a lapse somewhere in either design or
implementation because of the divergence from independently
established outcomes. Moreover, it is often the case that even
the most rock-solid of results cannot be extrapolated from one
group to another. To stay with diet trials, studies performed in
Asia or Latin America usually cannot be applied to American
experience because the study populations and eating habits are
so different. One has the right to question the reproducibility
and applicability of studies.

Of course, many studies are very strong, although this, too,
can be misleading. A recent one measured the effects of short-term,
oral L-arginine supplements (12 g/d for 3 weeks) in 16
hypercholesterolemic men with normal blood pressure (BP).
In this randomized, double-blind, two-period crossover design
study, L-arginine tablets (1 g each) and matched placebos
(microcrystalline cellulose) were used. The researchers
demonstrated that the L-arginine supplement increased blood
plasma levels of L-arginine and significantly reduced systolic
BP (p<.05) and diastolic BP (p<.001), both at rest and during
acute laboratory stressors. BP reductions were associated with
a significant decrease in heart output (p<.01); these changes
were mediated by small reductions in the volume of blood
pumped with each heart beat (p = 0.07). These results were
reproduced when the placebo group crossed over, plus they
make sense in terms of what is known of the role of L-arginine
in the body. Note that this study examines only one intervention
which is tested in several ways rather than examining several
interventions (e.g., diet + exercise + compound). With only
one intervention, it is relatively easy to establish a clear cause
and effect relationship.

This arginine study is an excellent example of a good
study with strong results that can be completely misleading.
The study lasted only three weeks. Based on a large number
of similarly successful studies lasting only one or two months
at a time, the temptation is to conclude that supplementing
with L-arginine is a great recourse for those who are
hypercholesteremic, hypertensive, need a boost in exercise,
and so forth. Unfortunately, such conclusions would be wrong.
As uncovered by a researcher who had been a proponent of
L-arginine supplementation, long-term supplementation with
L-arginine—in this case, six months.may lead either to null
results or to actual harm—1 The body consists of a vast number
of interconnected metabolic processes that are taking place
simultaneously. A beneficial effect in one area sometimes
is followed by a not so good effect someplace else. Hence,
even with well-designed trials, there can remain hidden or
submarine issues of which we become aware only much later.

Judging a clinical trial first requires establishing what
type of test is involved—case-control, cohort or randomized
controlled trial—because the type of test is the first clue as
to how impartial the observations might be. Next, one must
look closely at the components of the trial—the hypothesis
of the study, the study population and the size of the study
sample. A lack of clarity or inappropriateness in any one of
these will reduce the quality of the data and undermine the
analyses, interpretations and extrapolations based on the trial.
Finally, clinical trials seldom exist in a vacuum. A given trial
needs to be evaluated in light of related trials, especially trials
conducted by researchers whose concerns and orientations
are different from those involved with the test being evaluated.
Readers interested in pursuing this topic are urged to examine
Richard K. Riegelman, Studying a Study and Testing a Test (6th
edition, 2012).

Antioxidants protect us. They are the sub-stances that naturally regulate the fires within our bodies.

The fires are sparked by metabolic errors in our cells—errors that are unavoidable as our cells make and use energy for the business of life. The fires can be managed when we are young and very healthy but become harder to control as we get older. Aging is not so much bad genes as it is a slow, inexorable, cumulative consequence of tissue damage from internal fires, sparked by these unavoidable errors of metabolism.

The sparks of metabolism come from living with oxygen. Our life forms breathe in oxygen and use it to do controlled “burns” that extract energy from our foods. Oxygen-based energy allows us to become more sophisticated than amoebas, but comes with a big price. Oxygen is so reactive that it draws single electrons to it, generating oxygen-free radicals within our cells. These “oxyrads” are our unavoidable “sparks of metabolism.” Antioxidants keep them from destroying our cells.

Our tiny metabolic sparks are generated at a steady rate, the oxyrads having single electrons which cause them to attack biological molecules. Molecules with single electrons are aggressive oxidants: they steal single electrons to become paired up. Antioxidants block this process by donating their own electrons.

The antioxidant defenses dare not fail. When they do, important bio-molecules lose single electrons, themselves become unstable, and initiate spreading chain reactions. A chain reaction that escapes control becomes inflammation, with cell and tissue death and progressive loss of functional capacity. Inflammatory events are our internal fires, opposed by antioxidant enzymes backed up by our dietary antioxidant intakes. Our antioxidant defenses give us power to head off degenerative disease and achieve long life.

By quenching the metabolic sparks, antioxidants are also our natural antitoxins. But if the oxygen-free-radical toxins were the only problem, we'd likely all live 120 years or more. Think about cigarette smoke—100 trillion free radicals per puff. A total 4,000-plus synthetic chemicals in everyday use; even drugs we buy over the counter set small fires. Not to mention the illicit “recreational drugs.” Even emotional stress can overheat our metabolism. In this crazy world it's not good to leave home without your antioxidants.

Infectious agents are consistently linked to inflammation. In 1990 I documented inflammatory depletion of antioxidants by HIV-1. Then there's Hepatitis C virus in the livers of four million Americans. The bacterium Helicobacter pylori accounts for the majority of inflammatory stomach and intestinal ulcers. About half of the chronically ill American veterans of the Gulf War have mycoplasmal infections. We also can't forget Chlamydia pneumoniae, the fungus Candida albicans and Giardia and amebic protozoal parasites.

Our own host immune system may trigger inflammation from over-reaction to resistant pathogens. The immune cells produce huge quantities of free radicals when on the attack. When pathogens are not easily eliminated, the immune oxidant production can get out of control, resulting in local exhaustion of antioxidant defenses and another inflammatory focus.

Almost every toxic substance steals electrons and therefore can deplete the body's antioxidants. Thus, the body's own efforts to process some substances can actually make them worse toxins. The P450 detoxification system, located mostly in the liver, combines oxygen with water-insoluble substances such as cholesterol, estrogens, pollutants, pharmaceuticals, even herbal constituents. They are made into free radicals, to be later combined with antioxidants and made water-soluble for clearance with the urine or bile. But things don't always go as planned.

The P450 system wasn't designed to deal with the huge mass of toxins that enter the body. Let's talk about acetaminophen. This legal, over-the-counter drug (Tylenol®) is made highly reactive by the liver P450 enzymes. Then it burns away glutathione, the major liver antioxidant, and begins to kill liver cells. Liver failure can result. Organochlorine pollutants, indoor pesticides, mercury and other heavy metals (and let's not forget alcohol and cigarette smoke derivatives) all deplete glutathione and threaten all the tissues.

The body relies on foods to replenish its internal antioxidant stores. From our whole, unprocessed foods come the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E; the antioxidant essential minerals, selenium and zinc and copper and manganese; the semi-essential antioxidants coenzyme Q10 (COQ) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA); lutein, lycopene and other carotenoids; the polyphenolic flavonoids and various substances from traditional herbs. These circulate in our blood and contribute integratively to the blocking of free radicals. But a growing body of research indicates we aren't getting enough from our foods for optimal protection against disease.

The healthy body tries to conserve the nutritional antioxidants through metabolic recycling. But still there is a “burn” on our reserves. Dr. Robert Cathcart, the foremost authority on vitamin C , speaks of a “hundred-gram cold,” an influenza so severe it can burn away 100 grams (not milligrams) of vitamin C in just a day or two. A flu attack can be held to just a few days instead of a few weeks by taking lots of C and other antioxidants.

Integrative medical practitioners report that just about all their patients benefit from supplemental antioxidants. Vitamin E has been known for decades to be lifesaving against heart disease.Most of the health food community thinks of vitamin E as tocopherols. But tocotrienols are legitimate members of the vitamin E family and are excellent antioxidants. They are under clinical investigation for benefit against atherosclerotic blood vessel disease and experimentally for the slowing of cancer cell growth and proliferation.

Stephen Sinatra, M.D., a cardiologist and leader in the practice of integrative medicine, has long been a booster for COQ. I can relate to this because I also see COQ's fantastic promise. As I read about health care costs soaring through the roof, I wonder why COQ is not being fortified in our foods to lower gum disease, to improve heart and blood vessel health, to boost immunity and fight cancer development, even (yes!) to lengthen everyone's productive lifespan.

Coenzyme Q10 is unique as a potent antioxidant and indispensable energy catalyst (only ALA has a similar double role). Many of Dr. Sinatra's patients are very deficient in COQ. People taking statin drugs, beta-blockers or certain of the anti-depressants may have their internal COQ synthesis blocked. For them and probably for many of the sick and elderly, COQ is practically a vitamin. Any insufficiency of COQ can endanger the heart through impairing its energetic capacity.

Dr. Sinatra has linked much of the heart disease he sees in women to COQ deficiency. More than 100 clinical studies document that COQ improves congestive heart failure, angina, high blood pressure. About 15 percent of Dr. Sinatra's patients do not improve satisfactorily on COQ alone; these he gives carnitine and then improvement usually occurs. He also sees in the clinical evidence a potential link between poor COQ status and cancers, especially in women.

Selenium is an essential trace mineral, required through the diet though only in small quantities. Selenium has importance for human health that belies its plain mineral status. It is specific for the active sites of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GP). GP is a central player in control over free radicals.

In 1996 a major paper appeared in the prestigious (and conservative) New England Journal of Medicine, making an almost unbelievable claim. It described a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in which more than 1,300 subjects were followed for up to 10 years. Dietary supplementation with selenium produced a 50 percent reduction in total cancer mortality. The incidence of cancer was reduced by one-third. Lung, colorectal and prostate cancer incidence were markedly reduced. The material used was SelenoExcell™, an organic selenium concentrate that resembles the selenium found in food.

The carotenoids are, like vitamin E, fat-soluble antioxidants. One of them—lycopene—has been linked to exciting early results against prostate cancer. A small but controlled, clinical trial focused on male subjects undergoing surgery for prostate cancer. Half were offered a dietary supplement of LYC-O-MATO®, a standardized natural tomato extract with four times the typical lycopene content. PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels and prostate tumor size were significantly reduced, compared with the control subjects.

More recently, in a placebo-controlled, crossover trial, LYC-O-MATO® also showed good results in lowering high blood pressure. Its natural combination of lycopene with other plant nutrients may offer a unique synergy for the protection of our health against free radical and other toxic damage.

Lutein is the only carotenoid found in high concentrations in the retina, a thin cell layer at the back of the eye which constantly takes a high dose of light radiation. Macular degeneration destroys the retina and afflicts one out of four Americans over age 65. Lutein is being researched for its capacity to protect the retina and the lens of the eye and it also has anticancer potential.

Grape seed extracts are concentrates of flavonoid polymers. When the great scientist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi received the Nobel Prize for discovering vitamin C, he commented that he had expected to get it for discovering the flavonoids. The small polymers (oligomeric procyanidins) and polyphenols in grapes work synergistically with vitamin C to conserve the functions of the blood vessel linings and walls. Some of these flavonoids also have antiviral and possible anticancer actions.

As scientists continue with their dedicated investigations of food constituents, the latest phytonutrient star is rosmarinic acid (RA). This substance is extracted from a naturally high-yielding strain of oregano and also occurs in thyme and rosemary. All three of these plants have been revered for their medicinal properties literally for centuries. RA appears to have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties, while its high antioxidant potency has proved useful for stabilizing vegetable oils against frying. It has been prepared as a powder without solvents or other processing chemicals. Antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral effects are also being investigated.

Antioxidants are, together with phospholipids, nutrients with profound nutraceutical potential. Whether supplementation with these nutrients will extend the maximum lifespan remains to be proven. Certainly the clinical and experimental studies suggest that functional deficiencies of these nutrients result in cell-level dysfunctions with the potential to spark inflammation that progresses to life-shortening degenerative disease.

We need to keep the fires within us at a very low ebb lest they develop into the raging infernos of uncontrolled inflammation. Consumption of a variety of functional foods and supplements enriched with these nutrients will help keep that doctor away.

Phospholipids, Functional Partners of Antioxidants

by Parris M. Kidd, Ph.D.

Within the cells, circulating lipoproteins, digestive fluids and elsewhere in the body, phospholipids co-occur and co-function with antioxidants. The phospholipids (pronounced fos-fo-lip-ids) self-assemble into membranes and other multidimensional structures, together with antioxidants to protect them against oxidative destruction. This partnership between nutrient classes profoundly influences the health of the whole being.

The cell membranes are dynamic molecular assemblies that house life's plethora of biochemical processes. Our 100 trillion cells all rely on membranes to carry out their functions. Cell membrane organization is shown on the left of the illustration. Catalytic proteins are housed within a flexible bilayer (two molecular sheets), the phospholipid matrix. The matrix also houses antioxidants, including tocopherols and tocotrienols of the vitamin E family; lycopene, lutein and other carotenoids and ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10 or COQ). Also present is the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase, using selenium as its mineral co-factor.

Phospholipids (PL) are the most biochemically-suited building blocks for membranes. The right side of the illustration shows the molecular plan of a common membrane PL such as PS (PhosphatidylSerine)or PC (PhosphatidylCholine).

The fatty acid tails often are highly unsaturated and therefore susceptible to oxyradical or other oxidant attack. The more unsaturated the membrane, the more antioxidant protection is required. The PL head groups each bring special properties to the membrane. In PS the head group has serine, in PC it has choline. The “prophospholipid” GPC (GlyceroPhosphoCholine) has the choline head group but lacks fatty acid tails, and is absent from the membrane proper.

PS is most concentrated in nerve cell membranes. Its head group associates with membrane proteins particularly crucial to nerve cell functions. These include:

The sodium-potassium AND calcium-magnesium transporters that use up to 70 percent of all the cell's energy;

Proteins of the mitochondrial membranes, central to energetics. Here PS also is a backup for other phospholipids.

These membrane-level functions of PS translate to health for the whole being. Double-blind trials (20 of them) show PS a superior nutrient for memory support, for partial restoration of declining cognitive function, for coping with stress in the healthy young. Preliminary research suggests PS can improve attention, learning and behavior in children.

The energy for life is generated in cell membranes. In the process oxygen radicals (“oxyrads”) are generated which are highly reactive. However good the antioxidant defenses are, some oxyrads escape control and attack membranes. Thus the brain, with its intense energy generation (up to 60 percent of the body's total), must continually renew its cell membranes. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, the minerals selenium, zinc and manganese, the energizers COQ and alpha-lipoic acid, the carotenoids lutein and lycopene, standardized polyphenolic flavonoids and other food borne antioxidants, all synergize with PS to help optimize brain functions.

The liver is our workhorse organ; its cells contain a total eight football fields worth of membrane area, to perform 500 different functions. In its efforts to detoxify foreign substances it generates a further oxidative load on top of its usual oxyrad burden. Oxidants from foods, viruses, pollutants and drugs challenge the liver's antioxidant capacity. Though the healthy liver is well endowed with antioxidants, oxidant overload can kill cell membranes. Enter PC (PhosphatidylCholine), the most common phospholipid of membranes.

The liver also carries a substantial reserve of GPC, which is readily converted into PC to make membrane. It is the most bioavailable source of choline to help the liver cells regenerate and perhaps for similar reasons is highly concentrated in mother's milk.

Taken by mouth, GPC quickly clears the blood-brain barrier to reach the brain. Working through various mechanisms, it sharpens attention and immediate recall in young, healthy subjects. In the middle-aged it benefits information processing and general mental focus. In the elderly it improves declining cognitive functions linked to circulatory damage. GPC's support for nerve cell functions, including a protective role as osmotic buffer, make a convenient biochemical fit with the antioxidant defenses operative in the brain.

Functional partnership between phospholipids and the antioxidants is not limited to membranes. The circulating lipoproteins produced in the liver (HDL, LDL and others) are made mostly from PL building blocks. Dietary PL facilitate normal, pro-homeostatic lipoprotein status, probably through their support of the liver.

The LDL are the main vehicles for delivery of fat-soluble antioxidants—E, COQ, alpha-lipoic, carotenoids, others—to the tissues. In all of 12 double-blind trials, phospholipid mixtures lowered abnormally high total- and LDL- cholesterol without harming the HDL levels. In another double-blind trial, PL significantly improved blood flow to the brain and improved abnormal platelet aggregation. These marked circulatory benefits of the PL clearly complement antioxidants' benefits for the circulating lipoproteins and blood vessel walls.

Phospholipids combine with antioxidants in facilitating digestion. The bile fluid is essential for fat digestion and absorption. Bile has a large content of PL, functioning with the antioxidant taurine as micellizing agents to fully disperse the fat molecules. Fatty acids of the omega-3 or omega-6 class make up many of the phospholipid “tails.” These are held in position by their parent PL molecules while enzymes break away prostaglandins (PG) and other messenger molecules. Membrane antioxidants help regulate the PG formed, to support a favorable balance.

The natural co-functioning of phospholipids with antioxidants in our cells and tissues suggests combination supplements for synergistic benefits. In particular, a new technology (NutriVail™) employs custom phospholipids to make monomolecular dispersions of antioxidants, with the aim of substantially enhanced bio-availability and unique clinical benefit.

Peer-reviewed publications available on request. Dr. Kidd is scientific consultant to Lipoid USA.

Recent scientific studies showing a clear association between lutein intake and a decreased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts are capturing the attention of both consumers and their eye doctors. The need is growing clearer:

One out of four people aged 65 or older has early signs of AMD.

One out of two people aged 65 or older has a cataract or cloudiness in the eye's lens.

As the largest population group in the United States ages, many people are facing the likelihood of what some simply accept as part of aging, vision loss.

A Food and Nutrition Board report found that lutein is the nutrient most strongly associated with decreased risk of AMD and cataracts.

Lutein and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Prevent Blindness America estimates that 13 million people in this country have evidence of AMD, a condition that gradually destroys central vision. While the exact cause of this debilitating condition is still unknown, family history and age are known factors.

Lutein is found in the macula's “yellow spot,” a tiny region at the center of the retina. This tiny yellow spot filters blue light for the color vision cells within the retina. The researchers found that lutein is deposited in the retina and macula, increasing its density and protecting the tissue from oxidation by filtering blue light and quenching free radicals.

Experts say that by the time a person exhibits symptoms of AMD the disease has been developing for decades. Baby Boomers are showing concern about their aging eyesight and stocking up on supplement products formulated with lutein to reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Lutein and Cataracts

While cataracts generally occur in people over the age of 65, they are occasionally found in younger people as well. A cataract is a clouding that develops in the normally clear lens of the eye. This process prevents the lens from properly focusing light on the retina at the back of the eye, resulting in a loss of vision.

Lutein's link to cataracts is recent but well documented. Studies published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women with the highest intake of lutein and its fellow carotenoid antioxidant, zeaxanthin, had a 22 percent reduced risk for cataracts; men had 19 percent reduced risk.

“Many people have been told that nothing can be done about cataracts—that they are a natural effect of the aging process,” says Robert Abel, Jr. M.D., author of The Eye Care Revolution and member of the Lutein Information Bureau Advisory Board. “But they're now finding out that dietary changes, including consumption of lutein, may have a significant impact on risk reduction.”

At the same time, consumers are taking charge of their eye health and seeking out possible solutions. A recent independent survey of consumers shows lutein awareness at 44 percent across all age groups and at more than 57 percent among consumers aged 65 years or older.

Mounting scientific evidence also has convinced eye doctors of the many benefits of lutein, with 84 percent currently recommending lutein to their patients, according to an independent survey of 300 U.S. ophthalmologists and optometrists.

These eye doctors also support use of lutein for long-term eye health (91 percent), believe consumers should supplement their diet with lutein daily (71 percent) and believe lutein is the nutrient that best supports long-term eye health (58 percent).

What is lutein?

Lutein (LOO-teen) is a nutrient found predominantly in vegetables, particularly in dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale. Lutein belongs to a class of natural, fat-soluble pigments called carotenoids. It promotes long-term eye health in two ways. First, acting as a light filter, lutein protects the eyes from some of the damaging effects of the sun. Second, as an antioxidant, it protects the eyes from the damaging effects of aging.

Lutein is found naturally in the human body. In fact, it is the only carotenoid found in large quantities in the retina and at low levels in the lens of the eye. The human body is unable to manufacture lutein, however, so the body must rely on the consumption of lutein-rich foods or lutein supplements to replenish lutein levels and counteract oxidative damage from light as well as the effects of aging.

A 1994 Harvard University study by Dr. Johanna Seddon pointed first to lutein's important role in maintaining long-term eye health. Since then, more than a dozen scientific studies published by such peer-reviewed medical journals as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Archives of Ophthalmology and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have continued to show an association between lutein intake and various long-term eye health benefits.

Editor's Note: Look for a good quality supplement combination of Lutein and Zeaxanthin containing either FloraGLO® brand lutein or Lutemax 2020 and Zeaxanthin. Check our Products We Like section for more information on recommended products

The good news is that there is clinical proof you can build a powerful antioxidant defense system against prostate cancer. By incorporating LYC-O-MATO® (standardized natural tomato extract) into your daily nutrition program you can access remarkable fighting power against prostate cancer and a host of other degenerative diseases.

The standardized natural tomato extract contains several phytonutrients found in tomatoes including lycopene, tocopherols, vitamin E, phytofluene, phytoene, phytosterols, beta carotene and more. LYC-O-MATO is extracted from non-GMO tomatoes grown in Israel that contain four times the lycopene content of tomatoes grown elsewhere.

A six-year Harvard Medical School study of healthy males found that consuming tomatoes, tomato sauce or pizza more than twice a week, as opposed to never, was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer of 21 to 34 percent, depending on the food.

As exciting as its cancer-prevention potential is the evidence that shows lycopene may help fight existing cancer. A recent paper published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by Omer Kucuk, M.D., professor of medicine and oncology, and his colleagues at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, evaluated the effect encapsulated LYC-O-MATO had on patients with existing prostate cancer. In this study, Dr. Kucuk and colleagues followed 30 men with localized prostate cancer who were scheduled to undergo surgical removal of the prostate. For three weeks prior to surgery the study participants were randomly assigned to receive either 250 milligrams LYC-O-MATO from LycoRed Natural Products, Beer-Sheva, Israel (which contains 15 milligram of lycopene) twice daily or no intervention. Following removal of the prostates, the glands were analyzed to determine whether there were any differences between the two study groups.

The investigators found that the treated group had smaller tumors, which were more likely to be confined to the prostate. Levels of serum PSA were found to decline in the patients who received LYC-O-MATO tomato extract. In addition, the tumors in patients who consumed this natural lycopene showed signs of regression and decreased malignancy.

“This was the first published report from a randomized prospective clinical trial showing the efficacy of a tomato extract supplement against prostate cancer,” said Dr. Kucuk. “Previous reports were largely epidemiological studies showing an association between consumption of tomato products and decreased risk of prostate cancer. Furthermore, our findings suggest that a tomato extract in the form of LYC-O-MATO may not only help prevent prostate cancer but also may be useful in treating prostate cancer.”

Research using standardized LYC-O-MATO natural tomato extract is also good news for mild hypertensive patients reluctant to make lifestyle changes.

Findings published in the The American Journal of Hypertension provide evidence that LYC-O-MATO may help lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients. The study, presented at the Sixteenth Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension on May 18, 2001, may provide a new alternative for about 50 million Americans who have hypertension.

Americans interested in lowering their risk of high blood pressure are frequently encouraged to exercise and follow a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Typically, however, many are reluctant to make changes in their lifestyles. In fact, according to NOAH, an online health resource maintained by City University of New York, only 68 percent are aware of their high blood pressure condition and only 27 percent have it under control. High blood pressure contributes to 75 percent of all strokes and heart attacks.

Now there is a natural alternative to controlling hypertension that may prevent Americans from making difficult lifestyle changes and/or taking drugs with harmful side effects.

In a single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, Esther Paran, M.D., the study's principal investigator, evaluated the effect of LYC-O-MATO® on grade 1 hypertensive patients. In this study, 30 grade 1 hypertensive patients between the ages of 45–60 were administered a daily dose of identical placebos for the first four weeks of the study, followed by a 250 mg daily dose of LYC-O-MATO® for the final eight weeks of the study.

Preliminary results of this study indicate a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure in treated patients. “We are optimistic about LYC-O-MATO'S potential in managing hypertension,” Dr. Paran said. “The results of this study demonstrate the ability of LYC-O-MATO® to reduce systolic blood-pressure, warranting additional studies in the future.”

Other recent studies suggest that LYC-OMATO ® also provides a considerable level of defense against degenerative diseases including heart disease. Considering the results of these studies, combined with its positive effects on blood pressure, the importance of maintaining a normal level of natural phytonutrients like lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene and beta carotene in the human body is evident. It is recommended that individuals consume at least 80–250 mg of LYC-O-MATO® per day, which contains 15 mg of lycopene as well as other phytonutrients, to maintain good health.

www.lycomato.com, or visit the American Society of Hypertension Web site at www.ash-us.org

Several years ago, epidemiologists studying heart disease in Europe noticed something strange—high fat leads to heart disease, right? Not in France. The French eat a large amount of cream, rich sauces, delicious desserts and a wide variety of tasty cheeses. Yet heart disease is lower in France than the rest of Europe. This phenomenon is called the French paradox. Check this out—the French imbibe more wine than the rest of Europe.

The goodness of wine—flavonoids

What's in the wine? Water, alcohol and several other compounds (such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, tartaric acid) and more importantly flavonoids. Flavonoids are a large group of phenolic compounds that occur in fruits, cereals, legumes, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, stems and flowers and also in beverages such as tea, cocoa, beer and wine. Flavonoids have several properties that could prevent heart diseases. They are antioxidants that help with the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL). They also have anti-inflammatory properties and a beneficial effect on blood vessels as well.

Grape seed—a vital source of flavonoids Grape seeds contain 5–8 weight percent of flavonoids. Commercially available grape seed extracts such as MegaNatural™ Gold (Polyphenolics, Madera, California) are a rich source of flavonoids. Benefits of flavonoids For several years scientists at the University of California-Davis have studied the effect of flavonoids from grape seeds on blood vessels and how it can reduce cardiovascular risk factors. Loss of endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR) due to atherosclerosis is the primary cause for the formation of plaque in coronary arteries that leads to heart disease. EDR is caused by the release of nitric oxide (NO) from endothelial cells of the blood vessel. Experimental evidence led to the speculation that the release of NO could be mediated by a series of events that are initiated by a receptor, which is specific to flavonoids. EDR can be readily demonstrated by control experiments using established procedures. The effect of flavonoids on EDR was studied in detail over the past several years. Previous studies regarding the effect of flavonoids on EDR yielded conflicting results, possibly due to the variations in he quality of the extracts examined. However, recent studies using the commercially available grape seed extract MegaNatural Gold provided conclusive evidence that flavonoids have a protective effect against the development of endothelial dysfunction.

In the experiments, a group of rabbits fed only with cholesterol showed loss of EDR. But, a group of rabbits fed with both grape seed extract, MegaNatural Gold and cholesterol showed no loss of EDR, proving the protective effect of the grape seed extract, MegaNatural Gold.

Antioxidant activity of grape seed extracts Another study at the University of Scranton has demonstrated the superior antioxidant activity of grape seed extracts (GSEs) overwine, grape juice, vitamin C and vitamin E. Commercial products like MegaNatural Gold were used for both the in vitro and in vivo studies.

In one such study, a significant increase in the blood plasma antioxidant activity was observed within one or two hours after the consumption of grape seed extract. Nine human volunteers were given a 600 mg dosage of GSE and by using the RANDOX bio-assay study an increase up to 12 percent of blood plasma antioxidant activity was observed. This dosage could be correlated to drinking 300 ml of red wine or consuming 1250 mg of vitamin C.

In order to determine the GSE dosage that is required to have a higher bio-availability of polyphenols in blood plasma for improved antioxidant activity, nine subjects were given varied dosages of the flavonoid, epicatechin. Epicatechin is one of the flavonoids present in all grape seed extracts. The in vivo antioxidant study has shown that a dosage of 300 mg was more effective than 200 mg. In fact at 300 mg the antioxidant capacity in the blood was still increasing after four hours, indicating that at this dose the antioxidant effect will remain in the blood for six to eight hours.

A long-term study involving a dosage of 2 x 300 mg⁄day of GSE with 17 human volunteers was also conducted to understand the beneficial effect of GSE in reducing high cholesterol. Patients with high cholesterol experienced a decline in total cholesterol up to 12 percent and a corresponding decrease up to 16 percent in LDL, the so-called “bad cholesterol” as well.

These studies have once again confirmed the long-term effect of GSE s in controlling the level of cholesterol and triglycerides and reducing the risk of heart disease.

Implications for heart disease Endothelial dysfunction (loss of EDR) exists in hypertensives, diabetics, smokers, postmenopausal women and individuals with hyperlipidemia. All of these conditions are potential cardiovascular risk factors. Experimental evidence leads to the belief that polymeric flavonoids as a part of the diet may have a protective effect against the development of endothelial dysfunction. These findings, along with the established anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of flavonoids, could be a possible explanation for the French paradox.

A substitute for aspirin for heart health?

Many individuals take an aspirin a day to prevent their blood from becoming too “sticky.” Technically they are trying to prevent an increase in platelet aggregation. Blood platelets are like tiny band-aids in that they help to seal wounds by causing the blood to clot. Unfortunately, if the platelets clump (aggregate) too readily, they can cause a great deal of damage to the arteries. They can further the development of arterial plaques and they can reduce the flow of blood through the capillaries. Diabetics and smokers are two groups which commonly suffer from poor circulation and excessive platelet aggregation. Not surprisingly, both groups suffer from elevated rates of damage to the arteries.

Aspirin may provide some potential benefits for the heart, but it also has a number of side effects. The best known of these are damage to the stomach and the small intestine, but there are other dangers such as excessive bleeding (an increase in bleeding time—including inside the eye) and a reduced rate of repair to the tendons and the joints.

Do we really need these side effects? Of course not. Grape seed extract provides extended protection against platelet aggregation without causing any unwanted increase in bleeding time. A number of tests have confirmed this protection including human trials conducted by Serge Renaud of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Dr. Renaud demonstrated that grape seed extract can protect against the rebound in platelet aggregation which follows the ingestion of alcohol. Moreover, the compounds found in grape seed extract have a special affinity for the surfaces of the vascular system, the “pipes” as it were, of the body. This special affinity appears to improve the elasticity and the permeability of the capillaries, veins and arteries—the entire vascular system. Grape seed extract protects the ground substance (the proteoglycan matrix) of the blood vessels directly while at the same time it reduces the unwanted adhesion of platelets and other blood components. The suggested intake for these benefits is 200 to 300 milligrams (mg) per day.

“The finding that selenium, an essential nutrient posing negligible risk at the 200 mcg intakes studies, can substantially cut the risk of death from cancer is really a revolutionary finding. I cannot think of any other agent, nutritional or pharmaceutical, that is proven to cut the deaths from cancer by half in any human population anywhere in the world. “These remarkable clinical outcomes with selenium for cancer prevention are not a deviation from other research with selenium conducted with animals, with selenium-antioxidant enzymes, with cells in culture. Yet the potential they represent for cutting the emotional, spiritual and financial costs that cancer imposes on human society is almost beyond belief. Just shut your eyes for a moment, take a deep breath and think of all the people you have known who suffered and died from cancer.”

—Parris M. Kidd, Ph.D., science editor Total Health

SCIENTISTS FIRST CALLED SELENIUM TOXIC. THEN FOLLOWING ITS RECOGNITION FOR ANIMAL HEALTH, RESEARCHERS IDENTIFIED IT AS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR HUMAN GROWTH.

Now investigators wonder where the health benefits of selenium stop. The first selenium function in animals wasn't discovered until 1973. Dr. John Rotruck and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin demonstrated that selenium was incorporated into molecules of an enzyme called glutathione peroxidase (GPX). This vital enzyme protects red blood cells, cell membranes and sub-cellular components against undesirable reactions with soluble peroxides. The discovery of GPX opened the door to our understanding of how selenium is protective against cancer, heart disease, arthritis and accelerated aging.

This much misunderstood trace mineral may not gain the status of a drug simply because its primary role is disease prevention. Wherever soil is rich in selenium, certain diseases of livestock are virtually non-existent.

But how could selenium, provided in dosages less than the weight of a paper clip, protect a 150-pound human from disease?

Selenium and Cancer

In what was called the most startling cancer prevention study ever published, University of Arizona and Cornell University researchers recently discovered that selenium food supplements significantly reduce the incidence of nearly all forms of cancer. In 1996 researchers Larry Clark, Gerald Combs and Bruce Turnbull of Cornell University reported on the 10-year use of a 200 microgram supplement of protein-bound selenium among 1312 patients with a history of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer. While selenium had no effect upon skin cancer, it had a startling effect upon other types of tumors.

A Harvard researcher was quoted as saying: “If the effect of selenium is this large, it would be more important than anything else we know about in cancer prevention.” The results of the multi-center study were so surprising, many health researchers still want more proof.

Larry Clark, the senior researcher in this study, remarked that the type of selenium used in this study is not commonly found in all vitamin supplements. It's a special type of selenium that is grown organically in yeast. “Most of the selenium on the market is inorganic sodium selenite or sometimes they throw sodium selenite into yeast, but they are not bound together as the yeast grows, yet it is still called high-selenium yeast.”

Which type of selenium supplement?

In plant foods, selenium is bound to an array of amino acids (methionine, cysteine, others) and is thus a more stable form. In 1984, a MIT study determined that organically-bound forms of selenium are able to increase the body selenite exchangeable pool size about 70 percent more effectively than inorganic selenite or selenate. The superiority of protein-bound selenium is demonstrated in recent study where selenium-enriched broccoli was shown to inhibit colon tumors in rodents. Researchers observed that selenium-enriched broccoli is more effective than inorganic forms of selenium against colon tumor formation.

Another example of the superiority of protein-bound selenium over inorganic selenium has become apparent in studies of eye disease. One report suggests that “dietary supplementation with selenium should be explored as a means of preventing macular degeneration.” However, researchers have found that blood levels of selenium were lower among patients with macular degeneration even though seven of 10 patients studied took selenium supplements, mostly consisting of 80 micrograms of inorganic selenium (selenate). Lack of consumption of selenium does not appear to be the problem in these cases. Researchers surmise that the form of selenium is of importance. Some studies report that even 200 microgram doses of inorganic selenium fails to increase blood plasma levels of selenium in the eye, while amino acid-bound selenium increases plasma and whole blood levels.

Consumers should look for organically-bound selenium in supplements rather than the inorganic forms (selenite, selenate). The question is how to duplicate the same selenoproteins provided in plant foods in a food supplement?

Slow-growing Saccharomyces cerevisiae, baker's yeast, is employed to bind amino acids naturally with selenium. Some selenium food supplements only mix inorganic selenium with yeast but this is a shortcut that fails to do what nature does—slowly incorporate selenium into an array of about 20 amino acids. Yet the label on these food supplements may still read “selenium yeast.”

Numerous food supplements provide selenium bound only to one amino acid, selenomethionine. But the food supplement that dramatically reduced the cancer risk in 1996 employed a form of selenium bound to a full array of amino acids, like in foods. Only one brand of food supplement provides this complete food-form selenium, called SelenoExcell.

Due to years of misinformation the word “yeast” draws the attention of some consumers who believe they must avoid yeast products. Beneficial nutritional baker's yeast does not contribute to yeast infections such as Candida albicans. Selenium yeast is carefully pasteurized and dried after it is grown. This kills the yeast and it can no longer grow or multiply. Brewer's yeast has been a staple of the health food industry since its inception and is no cause for concern.

Only one company is going through all the trouble to manufacture a consistently reliable form of selenium organically bound to a full array of amino acids as found in foods. It goes by the trade name SelenoExcell.™. All forms of selenium have health benefits. But we have to go with the science. Until we know more, look for that branded ingredient.

Bill Sardi is president of Knowledge of Health, San Dimas, California.

To protect ourselves we invest in lifestyle changes, exercise, a healthy diet and supplementation. Antioxidants are only one element in the big picture, so products with multiple uses are particularly useful. After all, there's a limit to the number of supplements we can swallow in a day, let alone afford, so we need to supplement wisely. For example, consuming un-denatured whey protein raises intracellular glutathione levels and takes advantage of its three protective functions: T-cell synthesis, anti-oxidation and detoxification. Spirulina is an effective dietary antioxidant with dozens of well-known health benefits. Rosmarinic acid is another product that offers multiple advantages.

Rosemary and its cousins, oregano and thyme, have been known for their medicinal properties for centuries and rosemary oil has long been used in cooking, aromatherapy and in hair and skin tonics. It has been described traditionally as good for the skin, scalp, digestion and treatment of colds and is used as an antiseptic, stimulant and antispasmodic. Today medical scientists are particularly interested in rosmarinic acid for its anti-inflammatory, antiallergic and antioxidant properties.

Rosmarinic acid's multiple value also lies in its boxer's one-two approach: first, as a purely natural food additive it prevents or neutralizes the harmful oxidation that takes place while food is on the shelf, enhancing its quality and helping to prevent an additional tax on the body's over-burdened defense system. Then once the food is eaten, the same additive turns out to be a powerful dietary antioxidant. Of course it can also be used for direct supplementation. An added bonus is that rosmarinic acid does not interfere with intracellular oxidant-antioxidant balance and enables the immune system's phagocytes to use their free-radical weapons effectively against incoming disease organisms.

RA's antioxidant power

The most common free radicals attacking living tissue are reactive oxygen species (ROS)—or oxyradicals. They include the peroxyl, nitric oxide and superoxide-anion radicals plus singlet oxygen, peroxynitrite and hydrogen peroxide. Worst of all is the dangerous hydroxyl radical, formed by the combination of the weaker superoxide radical with hydrogen peroxide. Rosmarinic acid neutralizes the superoxide-anion and thus makes a major contribution to curbing oxidative damage in the body.

Rosmarinic acid also takes the heat of the more well-known antioxidants by getting into the fray and dealing with free radicals first, leaving vitamins C, E and others intact for later use. This extract is also one of the few antioxidants able to cross the blood-brain barrier and combat the superoxide radical in the brain, where researchers hope it may help prevent or combat such degenerative conditions as Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at the Israeli biotechnology company, RAD Natural Technologies, discovered that certain natural species of the plant Origanum vulgare contained particularly high concentrations of rosmarinic acid. Without genetic modification the plant yields a highly purified extract that is effective in very low concentrations. With neither solvents nor processing chemicals, RAD Natural Technologies is able to preserve the integrity of the plant extract and produce a water-soluble powder that can alternatively be emulsified and thus dissolved in fats and oils. It is ideal for industrial applications. If you've always thought of antioxidants as pills and dietary supplements, think again.

The company's rosmarinic acid product is called Origanox and it is sold for food processing, cosmetic and dietary purposes. Its antioxidant properties preserve natural pigments, odors and flavors and also protect vitamins and other active ingredients from the degenerative effects of oxidation. It also possesses antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties and is easily absorbed into the skin, where it potentially supports to neutralize the harmful effect of ultraviolet radiation.

Rosmarinic acid maintains its electron-absorbing properties at sustained high temperatures. That means that when it is added to edible oils, the number of free radicals released by frying is diminished. It is stable for long periods and at temperatures as high as 180 C⁄356 F so it can be baked into foods without impairing its antioxidant properties.

In Summary

Free radicals come at us from every conceivable direction and we need a good variety of antioxidants to protect ourselves. Some, like glutathione, are produced by the body, and are dependent upon a supply of raw materials from dietary sources. Others, like vitamins C and E, are built into the foods we eat or supplement in our diets. We may not be used to thinking of food preservatives as health aids but rosmarinic acid is a valuable aid that supports to preempt free radicals before they form in stored food and prevents the most harmful effects resulting from cooking with all sorts of oils. It also functions as a powerful antioxidant with the rare ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

The essential oil of Origanum vulgare is a powerful, anti-microbial agent and natural, antiseptic product. It has many, very promising applications in certain feed and food products besides being a flavor enhancer and therapeutic component in health food supplements. This potent and adaptable product promises to become a valuable addition to our preventive medicine arsenal.

Mention vitamin E and most people, even scientists, think alphatocopherol. It is only recently that scientists and now the consumers have been reminded that vitamin E is a family of compounds.

Tocotrienols are members of the vitamin E family. Unlike some vitamins which consist of a single compound, vitamin E consists of eight different compounds, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols (designated as alpha, beta, gamma and delta). Our food contains all eight compounds. Most vitamin E supplements, however, contain only alphatocopherol because it was thought that only this one was important. Emerging research proved this understanding wrong. In order to get the full spectrum of the many benefits of vitamin E we must use products that contain the complete family of tocopherols plus tocotrienols.

Tocotrienols are most abundant in cereal grains and the fruit of palm and are extracted commercially from palm oil and rice bran oil.

Tocopherols and Tocotrienols: Similarities and Differences

Each tocotrienol has similarities to the corresponding tocopherols. For this reason tocotrienols, like tocopherols, are excellent antioxidants. Tocotrienols however, have three unsaturated sites on the tail of the molecule. Scientists are discovering important and unique benefits of tocotrienols.

Underscoring the importance of taking the whole vitamin E family is the evidence that not only tocotrienols but even the other tocopherols have unique functions different from those of alpha-tocopherol. For example:

Gamma-tocopherol, not alpha, is the effective form for fighting nitrogen radicals which contribute to the development of arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS) and diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's.

Gamma-tocopherol and its major metabolite inhibit cyclooxygenase activity. This effect is very important because cyclooxygenase causes inflammation, which contributes to the progression of chronic diseases including heart disease and cancer.

High blood levels of gammatocopherol in men are associated with lower risk of prostate cancer.

The Science Behind the Unique Functions of Tocotrienols

Research produced evidence of the biochemical basis of the important and unique effects of tocotrienols. Tocotrienols and in particular gamma-tocotrienol appear to act on a specific enzyme called 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A reductase (HMG-COA) involved in cholesterol production in the liver. Tocotrienols suppress the production of this enzyme, which may result in less cholesterol being manufactured.

Tocotrienols slow down the growth of some types of human cancer cells, and particularly breast cancer cells, while alpha, beta and gamma tocopherols are ineffective. Gamma-tocotrienol suppresses the growth of rat melanoma and human leukemia cells, human breast adenocarcinoma and human leukemic cells.

Benefits for Cardiovascular Health—Clinical Evidence

The strongest evidence yet for tocotrienols comes from a clinical study in which 50 patients had stenosis of the carotid artery. These patients, ranging in age from 49 to 83 years, were divided in two groups. One group received approximately 650 milligrams of tocotrienols plus tocopherols. The other group received a placebo. All patients were examined with ultrasonography which measures the narrowing of the carotid artery.

Placebo group: Fifteen patients showed worsening of the stenosis, eight remained stable and two showed some improvement.

Tocotrienol (plus tocopherol) group: Three patients showed minor worsening and 12 remained stable. What is remarkable is that 10 patients showed regression of stenosis—their condition improved.

The tocotrienol group had also significant reduction in TBARS, a test that measures oxidation. A tocotrienol-rich extract from rice bran oil reduced triglycerides and LDL in these patients. We are studying further these effects of tocotrienol-rich products from rice bran oil.

Topical Use of Tocotrienols

Tocotrienols, like tocopherols, protect the skin against damage from ultraviolet radiation, pollution, cigarette smoke and other stress factors. Topically applied tocotrienols and tocopherols penetrate the entire skin to the subcutaneous fat layer within 30 minutes and significantly increase the concentration of these antioxidants in the deeper subcutaneous layers.

Safe and Effective Use Levels

Tocotrienols and vitamin E in general have an excellent safety record.

How much tocotrienols to take? Please remember that tocotrienols are available commercially as mixtures with tocopherols. If you are at high risk for heart disease, you may consider levels up to 300 mg per day of tocotrienols. For the great majority of consumers who want to get the benefit of the complete vitamin E family, much lower levels may still provide benefits.

It is extremely important to take products that contain natural tocopherols plus tocotrienols. While our individual needs differ, the following general guidelines might help choose the right level for you.

The adequate level—the 100/100 system: Take 100 IU plus 100 mg of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols. For healthy young adults with no family history of chronic disease.

The medium level—the 200/200 system: Take 200 IU plus 200 mg of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols. For young adults with some risk factors and healthy people without risk factors up to 50 years old.

The high, yet very safe dose—the 400/400 system: Take 400 IU plus 400 mg of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols. This is the level for people who, because of their family history for chronic disease, age, level of stress, diet and other factors, want to take a higher level.

Ten Additional Important Antioxidants

Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant compound similar to vitamin K and is naturally manufactured in the liver as well as every cell in the body. But even though COQ10 is produced in the body, many people have deficiencies, especially those suffering from cardiovascular disease and heart failure.

Every cell must have a way of obtaining energy. In cardiac cells, as well as throughout the body, oxygen-based production occurs within the cellular power plants called mitochondria. Here COQ10 provides essential energy in its most basic form—adenosine triphosphate (ATP)—the energy of life. Without adequate COQ10 as a cofactor, ATP synthesis slows down, eventually leaving the cell in a vulnerable state.

Dietary sources of COQ10 come mainly from beef heart, pork, chicken liver and fish (especially salmon, mackerel and sardines). Vegetarians typically will not get enough COQ10 unless they eat large quantities of peanuts and/or broccoli. The average person only gets five to 10 mg of COQ10 each day from diet alone. Most people would benefit from far more COQ10 than can be gleaned from the daily diet.

Although COQ10 can be synthesized by the body, many individuals are deficient in this vitamin. Illness depletes the body's stores even further. Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs such as HMG-COA reductase inhibitors can literally “kill” COQ10 synthesis. Other drugs, such as beta blockers and some of the older antidepressants, also interfere with COQ10-dependent enzymes, lowering its concentration in the body.

Any women taking a statin drug, especially those at high risk for breast cancer, should take at least 100 mg of COQ10 a day.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a very powerful nutrient and the premier water-soluble antioxidant. It participates in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body and is important in maintaining homeostasis as well as building tissue.

Death is inevitable if vitamin C is not provided. It is truly essential to human life. New research into the actions of vitamin C has sparked a greater understanding of the remarkable health-promoting properties of this essential nutrient. The new evidence validates that vitamin C supports cardiovascular and respiratory function, cognition, bone development and mineralization, vision and may even lower the risk of stress-related diseases and certain types of cancer.

Cardiovascular Health. High dietary vitamin C intake has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of death from heart attacks and strokes in numerous population studies. Also, researchers have found that vitamin C offsets spasms of the coronary arteries.

Collagen Maintenance. Vitamin C is important for the formation and maintenance of collagen, the intercellular cement that binds tissues together. Collagen provides tensile strength to bones, cartilage, teeth, tendons and ligaments. There is a positive association between vitamin C and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women.

Cancer. Vitamin C functions as an antioxidant to protect cellular structures, including genetic mechanisms, an enhancer of the immune system and to protect against cancer-causing environmental irritants and pollutants. Many of the benefits of vitamin C supplementation stem from its antioxidant properties. The antioxidant properties of vitamin C become more important as aging occurs, especially if there is stress or disease.

Astaxanthin is a member of an elite class of carotenoids known as xanthophylls.

Astaxanthin is believed to be the most active of these carotenoids. Researchers have discovered that the most abundant and concentrated form of astaxanthin is found in the natural, renewable material extracted from microalgae.

Because of its unique molecular structure, astaxanthin is unlike any other antioxidant in that it can perform a wide variety of tasks including:

increasing HDL (good cholesterol)

increasing strength and endurance

stimulating the immune system

protecting and enhancing eye health.

Astaxanthin has been shown to perform effectively the three key tasks of an antioxidant: quenching, scavenging and trapping free radicals. Astaxanthin is more powerful than many other carotenoids because:

its low molecular weight allows it to actually cross the blood-brain barrier, making it available to the eye, brain and central nervous system

it is more resistant to damage, allowing it to scavenge longer and trap more types of free radicals

it acts like a bridge, transporting free radicals along its long chain to water-soluble antioxidants like vitamin C inside and outside of the cell.

Acetyl-L-carnitine is a special form of carnitine that has the particular ability to optimize brain function. Acetyl-L-carnitine is able to cross into the brain more effectively than regular carnitine. It therefore enhances brain cell function much better than regular carnitine. As we age, acetyl-L-carnitine levels in our brains go down and for optimal brain function, supplements of acetyl-L-carnitine become mandatory.

Acetyl-L-carnitine acts in many ways to prevent the deterioration of brain cells that normally happens with age. It does this in many ways. It acts as a powerful antioxidant, provides the brain with healing energy and increases levels of a very important messenger molecule called acetylcholine. It is acetylcholine which becomes deficient in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and that is why these patients have such poor memory function. By increasing levels of acetylcholine, acetyl-L-carnitine helps the memory work better and may help prevent Alzheimer's disease as well.

Green tea is the antivirus, anticancer, super antioxidant. It is the most popular of Asian drinks and has been known for centuries to have a long list of health benefits. Interestingly, after water it is the most widely consumed beverage on the earth.

Dr. Earl Mindell states, “The antioxidants specific to green tea are polyphenols, bioflavonoids that act as super antioxidants by neutralizing harmful fats and oils, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, blocking cancer-triggering mechanisms, inhibiting bacteria and viruses, improving digestion and protecting against ulcers and strokes. The specific type of polyphenol found in green tea is called a “catechin.”

Other ingredients in green tea include the green chlorophyll molecules but also important are the proanthocyanadins similar to those found in grape seed extract, pine bark, bilberry and gingko. The specific tea is a variety called Camellia sinensis. Camellia sinensis in the West is known as black tea, such as Earl Grey tea, orange pekoe tea or English breakfast tea.

The antioxidant properties of green tea are responsible for its most important benefits. The Chinese always claimed that tea slows aging but it was not until we understood the role of oxidation in aging and the antioxidant function of flavonoids that we knew how this mechanism might work. Researchers at University of California- Berkeley found that green tea extract was the best at scavenging the deadly hydroxyl radicals. Three diseases that we focus on regarding green tea are heart disease, AIDS and cancer.

GREEN FOODS

It is well known now through modern research that green foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. They help protect against cancer, heart disease, digestive problems and many other modern disorders. Green vegetables are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene and chlorophyll. Possibly most important of all, they have potent antioxidant activity. Besides, they are low in fat and high in nutrients, an excellent combination.

The importance of green foods in the diet is now being validated scientifically worldwide. It is amazing how long it takes us to discover that foods were made correctly in the first place. They contain exactly what we need in their natural state. We have to find a way to take advantage of the whole foods naturally made and most of us are not doing that presently with our diets. In fact, it would be difficult for anyone to eat green plants to equal the amount of nutrition in concentrated green food supplements. So until you are ready to sidle up to a fivepound salad of spinach, watercress, alfalfa and kelp, the concentrated supplements mentioned here are probably your best source for the vital nutrients you need from green foods.

Alpha lipoic acid is a vitamin-like antioxidant that is produced naturally in the body and found in certain foods such as potatoes and red meat.

It is the only fat and water soluble free radical antioxidant, therefore, it is easily absorbed and transported across cell membranes, protecting us against free radicals both inside and outside our cells.

Alpha lipoic acid has been used for years throughout Europe to treat and prevent complications associated with diabetes, including neuropathy, macular degeneration and cataracts. Studies show that diabetics lower their insulin requirements; this also helps reduce complications.

An abundance of promising research has also shown the ability of alpha lipoic acid to inhibit replication of HIV and other viruses, to protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation which is associated with cardiovascular disease, to protect the liver from damage from alcohol or other toxins and also to prevent damage from radiation.

We do not obtain enough alpha lipoic acid through the diet to obtain this protection, so supplementation is required—100 to 200 mg daily. Therapeutic doses are higher.

Essential for many cellular functions, glutathione is a tripeptide of connected molecules composed of three nonessential amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid and glycine.

Without glutathione people suffer from an inability to detoxify metabolic wastes and in eliminating toxic substances like heavy metals and other environmental poisons. This may lead to heart disease, joint disorders, cancer and problems with the endocrine, immune and nervous systems.

Even healthy people under stress can become subject to a disrupted balance. They could be sick or battling an inflammation or infection, or healing from an injury, while more free radicals are created and must be eliminated. Glutathione will do the job. It will also seek out the free radicals formed when people are exposed to cigarette smoke, alcohol, mercury, air pollution, food additives, pesticides and ultraviolet light.

Needed cofactors that properly assist glutathione function are the following: alpha lipoic acid, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and the minerals selenium and zinc, of which selenium is a vital component.

Extracted from the bark of Pinus maritima, the coastal pine tree found in abundance in southern France, pycnogenol is made up of a combination of flavoids that occur naturally in small amounts in some fruits and vegetables. However, antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables and nuts lose their potency when they are harvested, processed, frozen and cooked. A study in the British scientific journal, The Lancet, showed that risk of heart disease was 50 percent lower in populations that consumed high amounts of flavonoids (at least 30 mg a day) than groups that took in low amounts of these antioxidants.

Decades of laboratory research and clinical studies conducted by Dr. Jack Masquelier show that pycnogenol contains approximately 40 natural ingredients including proanthocyanadins, organic acids and related bioavailable components such as glucosides and glucose esters. It is a potent antioxidant that protects against free radicals, has been shown to be many times more powerful than vitamin C or vitamin E and has the added benefit of working synergistically with many nutrients that support health.

Millions of people in Europe and the United States, athletes in particular, rely on pycnogenol to maintain skin health and overall health during the aging process. It is one of the best tried-and-tested products in its category, non-toxic and non-carcinogenic.

Garlic is the most studied herb in history. It has more benefits than any other single food. Tradition has told us that garlic has beneficial effects on health and longevity. Science is beginning to validate many of these claims including garlic's ability to prevent heart disease, fungal overgrowth and infectious diseases, the ability to remove toxic metals from the body and its powerful antioxidant and anticancer effects.

A Summary of Garlic's Many Benefits Includes:

having been shown to have powerful immune-boosting properties and may be valuable in fighting off viral infections such as the common cold.

having been shown to help lower blood pressure in those with hypertension.

working as a natural antibiotic and reducing the number of harmful bacteria in the body.

reducing blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and has been shown to limit the deposition of plaque on artery walls.

having been shown to help the body eliminate parasites.

reducing the amount of the yeast, Candida albicans, in the human GI tract and has been shown to be beneficial in fighting systemic yeast infections.

having been shown to lower blood sugar and be of significant benefit to diabetics.

having been shown in population and laboratory studies to help prevent a wide variety of cancers.

Editor's Note: We highly recommend the most studied garlic supplement on the market. Kyolic AGED Garlic is Organically grown, and aged up to 20 months to enhance the nutritional value of the garlic, remove its pungent odor and make it gentle on the stomach. Kyolic is heavily researched with over 750 scientific studies.

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"Dr. Perlmutter, an acclaimed neurologist, has for years been a pioneer of the gut-brain connection. In The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan, he combines his clinical expertise, insights into the latest scientific developments, and immense compassion into a powerful prescription for brain health." David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, professor, Harvard Medical School, and author of Always Hungry?

"Dr. Perlmutter's groundbreaking work has changed the way we think about inflammation—its causes and the damage it can do. I've gotten tremendous benefit from his books and The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan gives us simple and direct ways to prevent and treat diseases in easy and delicious ways." Bonnie Raitt

"Dr. David Perlmutter is one of the first people to not only suggest that modern degenerative diseases are likely caused by poor diet and alterations in gut health, but he has produced clinical research indicating these conditions may be avoided or reversed by altering one's diet and lifestyle. The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan is the culmination of more than 35 years of clinical practice and research that will help you look, feel and perform your best." Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution

"Dr. Perlmutter sifts through the emerging research on how to create brain and body health. And he created The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan, a manifesto for the new medicine, the roadmap for how to care for the one precious human life that you have. If you want to live strong, feel good, boost your brain function, and become more connected and engaged to your own life, then you need a plan. This book is that plan." Mark Hyman, MD, author of Eat Fat Get Thin and director of Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine

"If everyone were to follow The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan, there would be a dramatic reduction in obesity, diabetes, cancer, dementia, arthritis—in short, the world would be a better place." Dale Bredesen, MD, professor and director of Alzheimer's Disease Research, UCLA

"The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan presents a comprehensive, practical, step-by-step approach aimed at people suffering from a variety of chronic neurological, psychiatric, and medical conditions. Dr. Perlmutter not only gives specific dietary recommendations, including a diet rich in plant-based fiber, but also prescribes important lifestyle changes such as physical exercise, stress reduction, and improvement in sleeping habits." Emeran A. Mayer, MD, author of The Mind Gut Connection and director of the Oppenheimer Center for Stress and Resilience at UCLA

The first step in establishing your personal vitamin program is to ensure that every day you are receiving those vitamins and other nutrients that are truly essential to the human body. Since thousands of dietary supplement products are available, claiming to benefit every manner of body function, here are some guidelines to help separate the wheat from the chaff. Let’s start with the multivitamin- mineral (MVM) product.

To do what it is supposed to do, your MVM should provide just about ALL the vitamins and minerals truly proven essential to human health. The list of known vitamins hasn’t changed much in recent decades; it includes vitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12, (the missing numbers were those which proved not to be truly essential) and vitamins C, D, E and K. Folate and biotin are also vitamins, as are the essential fatty acids, which are discussed below. Choline was recently established as essential. A number of minerals are also proven essential to survival.

Minerals are not organic since they do not contain carbon and thus cannot be called vitamins. However, certain minerals are as essential to survival as are the vitamins. For a number of minerals, deficiency states are established and recommended dietary allowances exist. Of these, sodium and phosphorus don’t need to be supplemented since they are more than adequately represented in the daily diet. Vanadium has never been proven essential and has some suspicious actions; microgram amounts may be acceptable in your MVM, but milligram amounts cannot be justified. Similarly, fluorine can be toxic and very likely is not essential.

Unequivocally, every person, whatever their age, gender or state of health can benefit from taking a multivitamin-mineral product on a daily basis. A good MVM will provide all the vitamins and essential minerals, minimally in amounts of at least 100 percent of the “daily values.” The daily values seen on the dietary supplement product labels are the RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances) recalculated on the basis of each 2000 “calorie” intake of food per day (kilocalories, really). A good multivitamin-mineral will also supply close to 100 percent of the daily values for the following minerals: magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, silicon, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, boron, and chromium. Potassium, unfortunately, is kept low (around 99 mg daily maximum) by regulation.

Don’t take “one-a-day” MVM formulas seriously: one tablet or capsule a day simply cannot pack in decent amounts of all the necessary nutrients. A good MVM cannot be packed into less than 2–4 or up to six capsules or tablets per day, divided between two or three meals.

As you shop for a good MVM, you must examine the label carefully or you’ll waste your money. By law, the manufacturer has to list the ingredients on the label. Also, some MVMs provide meaningful amounts of certain standardized herbal extracts, namely minimum tens of milligrams each of ginkgo biloba extract and/or milk thistle extract, grape seed extract, pine bark extract, bilberry standardized extract, and hawthorn berry extract. These add to the quality of the product, since they have proven health benefits.

There are two kinds of EFA, omega-6 and omega-3, the two kinds compete with each other for uptake and utilization and play a “yin-yang” role in the body by delicately balancing and complementing each other’s effects. It’s been found that supplementing the diet with certain omega-3s will protect against heart attacks and strokes, and generally help protect the body against inflammatory damage.

Take extra Vitamin C and Vitamin E

As the scientific research on vitamins and minerals has progressed, the recommended daily amounts of minerals necessary for good health have not changed much. Among the vitamins, the benefits of some extend to such large amounts that we cannot expect full intakes from our MVM product and are forced to take them as additional supplements. Two proven examples are vitamin C (ascorbate) and vitamin E (d-alpha, beta, gamma, and delta tocopherols [ VERY IMPORTANT ]).

It used to be that so-called experts would scoff at the late Professor Linus Pauling when he talked about taking grams of vitamin C every day. They said we would just be making expensive urine if we tried to do what he did. yet there was good research even then to show that Pauling was right; those “experts” just didn’t want to work the data into their ideological agenda. Some went so far as to fudge existing data in order to deny that vitamin C helps prevent the common cold; others purposely miss-designed human studies to try to show that vitamin C could not help treat disease. But the majority of researchers stayed honest, as their own research led them to discover that, yes, Hoffer, Cathcart, Cheraskin, Pauling and the others were right: vitamin C could do marvelous things for human health.

The essential fatty acids are Vitamins

The essential fatty acids (EFA) are oily substances, which are really vitamins because deficiency states have been demonstrated for them. There are two kinds of EFA, omega-6 and omega-3, differing in their molecular details but sharing the same enzyme systems. The two kinds compete with each other for uptake and utilization and play a “yin-yang” role in the body by delicately balancing and complementing each other’s effects. unfortunately, in today’s world we are getting either too little of both kinds if we eat a lot of junk food, or too little of the omega-3s if we eat the typical Western diet. Now it’s been found that supplementing the diet with certain omega-3s will protect against heart attacks and strokes, and generally help protect the body against inflammatory damage.

The omega-3s that work best are DHA and EPA, some of which can be obtained by consuming cold water fish, though we do recommend supplementation. A certain amount of omega-6 intake is also important, and this is best obtained from GLA. In the future, you will see the EFA included in MVM products, but for now they are mostly available only as oils in softgel capsules.

Conditionally-essential nutrients sometimes May be Vitamins

A number of substances that have not been established as vitamins through deficiency assessment are nonetheless intricately involved in life processes. One that has been extensively researched is coenzyme Q10 (“CoQ”), otherwise called ubiquinone. CoQ is crucial for the generation of energy in all our cells and makes important contributions to our protective antioxidant defense system. Technically, our cells have the enzyme machinery to make their own CoQ. Why, then, do people with heart problems develop a functional deficiency of CoQ? Alpha-lipoic acid also is crucial for making energy and is also a potent antioxidant. Another example is taurine, which is an antioxidant, antitoxin and electro-osmotic buffer substance found in the heart tissue, the nerve tissues and in all our cells. yet another is carnitine, which is also important for the heart and is central to the body’s energetics. These nutrients all fit the category of conditionally-essential nutrients in that portions of the population are critically unable to make enough to keep up with body demand for them. Occasionally, a nutrient previously thought conditionally-essential is proven fully essential for humans, as recently occurred with choline.

Deficiencies in the conditionally-essential nutrients can be life-threatening. For CoQ, taurine, carnitine, and some other such nutrients, the bio-synthetic pathways are especially complex and energy intensive. Elderly or sick people, or people with chronic viral infections, may produce either none at all or quantities insufficient to keep up with demand. For such people, supplementing with these nutrients is likely to be a good idea. For individuals with heart failure, a condition in which deficiencies of all three of these nutrients can manifest, supplementing with all three daily may be a lot more than just a good idea.

The conditionally-essential nutrients are all orthomolecules. As conceived by Professor Pauling, orthomolecules are substances orthodox to our metabolism; that is, they are part and parcel of our normal enzyme pathways. Certain more sophisticated MVMs have included carnitine, taurine, NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), alpha-lipoic acid, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol), and other orthosubstances. These are undeniably valuable for your health, but your MVM will not be able to provide all that you need, and for your special health needs you’ll need to consider additional supplement products.

Stress of any kind increases the body’s nutrient requirements Never underestimate the power of stress to make you sick. Emotional stress works through many mechanisms to damage our tissues. But stress is far more than just emotional.

Although the word “stress” is commonly taken to mean emotional stress, its meaning for the body is much broader. In a biological sense, stress means any challenge to the body’s life processes and survival skills. For example, exposure to too much cold or heat is stressful. Malnourishment or eating junk food is stressful. Too much noise is stressful. Fits of anger are stressful, and anxiety and depression exacerbate emotional stress. Chemicals foreign to the body cause stress, as they react with our biological molecules and so modify our body chemistry.

One of the most stressful chemical agents is cigarette smoke. Oxygen free radicals, tars, heavy metals, and radioactive substances in cigarette smoke, whether inhaled actively or passively, deplete virtually all the types of nutrients in the body, and as this happens, the risk of asthma, bronchitis, cancer, and heart disease skyrockets. Chlorinated hydrocarbon pollutants entering our bodies from the air, water and foods deplete our antioxidants and many other orthomolecules and thereby increase the risks of cancer, nerve damage, memory loss, and liver or kidney failure. Alcohol intake is stressful, whether or not a person is an alcoholic.

Other sources of stress include infectious agents (ALL viruses or bacteria, fungi such as yeasts and molds, protozoan or worm parasites, mycoplasmas such as the one that causes pneumonia). Infectious agents hijack our biochemical machinery to meet their needs. These intruders also siphon off vitamins and minerals that we need to make energy and otherwise conduct our life processes. As the immune system mounts assaults these unwanted guests, fever and other inflammation develop that literally burn away our antioxidant reserves and accelerate our losses of B vitamins and minerals. That’s why increasing your intake of the superb antioxidant vitamin C and minerals such as zinc and magnesium can make such a difference when you have a cold. Don’t underrate the importance of nutrients against the stress of infection. Increased nutrient intakes will even help slow AIDS progression.

OTC and other drugs Can deplete nutrients

Many over-the-counter drugs can deplete the body of essential nutrients. Acetaminophen (Tylenol®) depletes glutathione, an antioxidant substance that is key to the functioning of the liver. Liver failure can be the result. Aspirin, one of Tylenol’s competitors, is no more innocent except that it targets the stomach rather than the liver. Aspirin can deplete folate and vitamin C, and it breaks up the phospholipid surfactant layer that normally protects the stomach lining, with ulcers often arising that then bleed and deplete the body of iron.

Antacid use also can be a problem, depleting the body of folate as well as copper. Certain laxatives and stool softeners can do tremendous damage by reducing the absorption of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients and depleting the body of water. Overuse of laxatives is common, especially among girls and women concerned about gaining weight, depressed people preoccupied with bowel function, and constipated elderly patients. Prescription drugs are worse than the OTCs, and more than 600 of these are known to be toxic to the liver.

Among prescription drugs, those classes most proven to deplete nutrients include oral contraceptives (vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate), antibiotics (vitamin B12, vitamin K, iron, magnesium, calcium; also the friendly gut bacteria), cholesterol-lowering agents (coenzyme CoQ), and diuretics (sodium, potassium, calcium). Tricyclic antidepressants can deplete vitamin B2 and CoQ. We could go on and on about drugs and the damage they do to our bodies, but the pattern is clear: persons taking pharmaceuticals of any kind need to increase their daily intakes of multivitamin-minerals and antioxidants.

Managing specific health problems and healing organ damage

The topic of therapeutic nutritional supplementation is a huge one. Hundreds of books have been written, and tens of thousands of scientific papers have been published on the uses of vitamins and other nutrients to treat clinical disease conditions in order to achieve healing. Drugs don’t heal, and government regulatory agencies, goaded on by the pharmaceutical drug interests, have done their best to shut down this entire field of nutritional application. They’ve spectacularly failed, though, because the records show that vitamins and minerals can be employed in combination with other orthomolecules and with herbal preparations to manage, heal or cure just about any disease or dysfunction. Not only this, but in so doing they outperform the drugs in all areas. Here nutrients become nutraceuticals, to be administered in doses sufficient to give maximum benefit against a disease. Sophisticated nutraceutical combinations are personalized to the needs of the individual. Some clinicians and scientists believe, as do we, that even aging can be slowed using this strategy.

Every one of us has an “Achilles Heel” in our body makeup, some weakness or weaknesses that will likely bring on ill health or premature aging and without intervention will likely shorten life. By learning to be aware of our body’s grunts, groans, squeaks, and quirks, and by working with trained professionals, we can target these weaknesses for special treatment in order to slow progressive functional loss (as the liver carrying a chronic virus, for example), to reverse existing loss (as memory function) or even to heal longstanding zones of trauma (as a damaged joint). At this level of a personal vitamin program, the potential benefit is lifesaving, and this is both the promise and challenge of 21st century health care.

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